Explosive Surprises
by Chuni Luni
Summary: An explosion leads to unexpected surprises. Contains OC's. Rating may go up in future chapters.
1. The Explosion

_**Authoress note:**_ Hi everyone! I'm back with another Naruto story...as I'm sure you noticed lol. Well this one has Dakota (An OC I created) in it. Some of you may know who she is but if you don't and want some info on her just let me know OK? Oh this isn't a continuation of 'The Escape'. R and R please!

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Dakota was deep in a forest currently practicing her taijutsu. She was the only one around for miles or so she thought. Only a few miles away a boy was fighting for his life. He fought as well as he could but there were to many people and they were strong. The boy was so busy trying to fend them off that he didn't notice that a man who was behind him was performing a set of hand seals.

Dakota had just finished her set of taijutsu moves when suddenly an explosion rocked the forest. Startled she whipped around and saw a huge cloud of smoke rising towards they sky. 'Oh man...what was that?' She thought then hurried towards the explosion site. Making sure to keep her presence hidden. She didn't know if their were people around...people who may be dangerous.

When she reached the clearing she saw that the majority of the clearing had been destroyed. 'I don't think anyone would have been able to survive that.' She thought jumping down from the tree she had been in and beginning to search the area.

"Well...I guess I was wrong." Dakota said kneeling down next to a half buried fox. She moved the dirt and debris off of the fox and looked at it amazed. It wasn't like any fox she had seen before. Instead of the usual reddish orange fur that foxes have this one had golden yellow fur. "Aren't you an odd one." Gently picking it up she saw there was a small amount of blood over it's ribs but other than that and it being unconscious it seemed to be alright. "Let's get you back and cleaned up." She said as she jumped in to a tree and hurried in to another.

A while latter the fox laid on her sleeping bag cleaned and bandaged. She watched it for a few minutes hoping it would make it. 'I hope it does...I could use a friend out here.' She thought. Two days passed and it still hadn't woken. It was on the third day when she was making breakfast that the fox finally opened it's eyes. "Good morning little one." It stared back at her with wide blue eyes. "You must be hungry...breakfast will be ready in a few minutes."

**Change of POV**

Groaning I opened my eyes and looked around. A girl sat not to far away next to a campfire.

"Good morning little one." She said smiling at me.

'Little one? She can't be talking about me.' I thought. I was short once...but I'm not anymore. A few months ago I finally hit my growth spurt and the last time I checked I was just about 5' 8". I looked at her blankly.

"You must be hungry...breakfast will be ready in a few minutes."

'Ugh...what's going on?' I thought as I tried to stand but I couldn't. Some thing was wrong. Looking down at my hands I let out a yelp. My hands weren't hands. No they were paws!

The girl hurried to me when I yelped and knelt down next to me. "It's OK little one." She said as she reached out and petted my back.

'Hey...stop!' I thought. Then I saw something out of the corner of my eye. It flickered in and out of my sight. Turning my head the first thing I saw was that I no longer had hair but fur and then I saw that the thing flickering in and out of my sight was a tail...mine to be specific. I yelped once more and the girl scooped me up in to her arms and cuddled me against her body. 'Hey whoa!...wait...this is kinda nice. Soft...' I thought. Turning my head I saw I was being cuddled against her chest so the soft things... 'Holy shit!' I cried and began to struggle to get away.

This only caused her to hold on to me tighter. "It's OK I won't hurt you. At least have something to eat before you leave."

I stopped struggling and she walked over to the fire. She set me down and a few minutes latter I had a steaming bowl of oatmeal in front of me. I stared at it for a few minutes debating on whether or not to eat it. I didn't really like oatmeal...but then my stomach growled really loudly. Shrugging I began to eat the food slowly. The girl watched me as I ate. 'Hey...this is pretty good!' I thought and began to eat it faster.

She laughed and said "Well I guess you like it. It's my own special recipe."

After I finished I sat and studied her. She looked to be about my age and she was wearing a Leaf head band. 'So she's from Konaha...' I thought. I hadn't seen her around the village before though.

She had short silver hair and when I looked at her eyes my own widened in surprise. Her eyes were three different colors! Was it possible to have eyes like that? 'Well obviously since she has them.' I thought. Her eyes matched her hair. They were different shades of silver and gray. The darkest shade was around her pupil and the next ring was lighter and the final one was the same shade as her hair. 'Well this girls interesting.' I thought.

She stood a few minutes latter and smiled down at him. "Well you can go now if you want. As for me I'm heading down to the river." She then picked up a bag and headed out of the clearing.

I watched her go and thought 'Go? Where the heck can I go? I have no clue where I am!' Shaking my head I stood and began to walk. Two seconds latter I fell flat on my face. Grumbling I went slowly trying to get the hang of walking on four legs. It took me for ever to get to the river. Once there I pushed my way through a thick bush and stopped in my tracks. 'Holly...cow...' I thought as I stared wide eyed at the river. 'I must be dreaming...'


	2. Names

**_Authoress note:_** OK guys here's the second chappie! I want to say that I got the idea for the foxes looks (The gold fur and blue eyes) from green-gold-fox's story grin of the fox. Now for thank yous! Konoka (I hope you don't mind but I'm just gonna call you that OK?) I'm glad you like my story so far. I hope this update was fast enough for you lol. Don't plan on them being so frequent though because I'm making this up as I go. Leo (I'm just gonna call you Leo if it's OK cause it's shorter lol) I know I LOVE foxes to! (Huggles Naruto in fox form) As for their ages...hm...good question lol. How about Dakota's...19 and Naruto's 18. He's a Chuunin (Did I spell that right? I suck a remembering how to spell this stuff...) but she isn't since she left before the exams and hasn't been back. But don't think she's weak! If she wanted she could become a chuunin she just hasn't gone back to konaha to take the test. One more thing she isn't stronger than Naruto so don't worry about that lol.Well that's all for now everyone! R and R please!

* * *

There in the water stood the girl. She wore no clothes. I felt my eyes bug out of my head. All thoughts left my mind except one. 'Please don't let this be a dream.' Without realizing it I crept down to the side of the river and crouched behind a rock. 

The girl had no clue I was there as far as I could tell. She had her back to me and was walking deeper in to the river then she submerged herself completely. I peered cautiously around the rock and watched as she surfaced and continued to bathe. This was a first for me. Unlike Kakashi sensei, who I had caught peeping on the girls at the hot springs, I normally didn't see this kind of stuff.

A few minutes latter she came back to the shore and I ducked behind the rock. Hey I wasn't that big of a pervert! It wasn't until she was dressed that I crept out from behind the rock and made my presence known.

"Oh hello there. I thought you would have gone off by now." In response I went up to her and placed a paw on her leg.

She looked down at me then knelt down. "What is it? Do you want to stay here with me?"

'What else can I do except wander around this forest, get lost, and end up dead?' I thought.

"Well if you want to stay with me that's OK. I'm known as Dakota. Now we need to find a name for you."

'Hold it I already have a name!'

She studied me for a few minutes then said "Well you're an unusual fox so I guess I should give you a special name…."

'Huh so I'm a fox?' Go figure. First I have a fox sealed in to me then I somehow get turned in to one.

"Oh I know! How about Raidon?" I cocked my head at her. "Uh….don't like it? OK then how about……Skye (Pronounced Sky-Uh)? Cause your eyes remind me of the sky."

'Well it's better than Raidon….' In response I swished my tail back and forth.

"Like that huh? Well then Skye it is!" As she stood and gathered her belongings she said "Today I'm moving on to another place so we gotta get back so I can pack up the rest of my stuff." I followed her through the forest and watched as she made it look like she had never been in the spot where she had camped. She slipped on her backpack then scooped me up in to her arms.

'Hey I can walk you know!'

Dakota placed me on her shoulder and said "Make sure you hold on." Then she jumped in to the trees.

After a while my mind began to wander. 'How did this happen?' What I could remember is that I had been on my way home from a mission when I was suddenly ambushed. There were a lot of ninja's and they were strong……then……then there was an explosion. Is that when it happened? It had to of been because the next thing I knew I was waking up in Dakota's camp. 'It's a good thing she found me……or else I'd be dead by now.' Sighing I brought my self out of my thoughts in time to see Dakota jumping down from the trees. 'What's up?' I asked but it came out as a small yip.

"Time to set up camp for the night Skye." She said as she sat me down.

'Night? Jeez it's been that long since we set out?'

As we ate dinner she began to talk to herself. "Well If I'm right there's a village about thirty miles from here…..if I keep going at this pace then we should be there soon."

'Is it a good idea to keep moving this fast?' Oh well it was her decision not mine.

After she cleaned up the remains of dinner she unrolled her sleeping bag and slipped in to it. "Hey Skye come on and get some sleep." I sat there and stared at her. She had to be kidding. Did she really want me to sleep next to her? "Come on Skye we're setting out early tomorrow so we need sleep."

I cautiously walked up to her and she instantly scooped me up and placed me in the sleeping bag with her. 'There's no way I can sleep like this!' I thought franticly as I began to try and get away.

Dakota laid down and wrapped her arm around me. "I'm glad I found you Skye……It gets kinda lonely being alone all the time…." She said as she fell asleep.

I watched her for a few minutes. Sighing I laid down and closed my eyes. Why did I do this? I have no clue…..I was strong enough to wiggle out from under her arm but I just stayed put.


	3. Clean up: Can I survive this?

_**Authoress note: **_Well here's the next chappie. Sorry it took so long. I just hit writers block for ALL of my stories. (Cries) I wanna write but I can't! (sniffle) I'm trying my best though. So if I do post things they may seem very...cruddy. Any ways all I ask is you please bear with me and I'll try my best. Konoka you bet he's gonna turn back...but not for awhile. As for problems he's gonna get in to you bet there's gonna be some! Leo (Sniff) yes someone tried to blow him up...luckily they didn't succeed. Trust me when I say there will be lotsa cute things and embarrassing things happening in future chappies. Enjoy and R and R please!

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The next three days passed in basically the same way. Dakota would get up early (Causing me to get up as well) then we'd eat a light breakfast and head off. She would only stop for a few minutes two or three times a day before setting up camp at night. 

I was snoozing on Dakota's shoulder when we arrived at the village. What woke me up was the sudden amount of noise. This village was big but not as big as Konaha. I looked around sleepily until I heard Dakota speak to me.

"Alright Skye first things first we get something to eat...now where should we eat?" She asked looking around her. I looked around as well. Everything seemed so good. Sighing she said "Man I'm not used to so many choices anymore..."

I looked at her confused. What did she mean by that? I was snapped out of it when she began to walk towards a ramen bar. She sat down and ordered. Looking around her surroundings she noticed that a few people were watching her. She hated that.

Dakota reached up to me and lifted me off of her shoulder. Sitting me down on the empty seat next to her she said "We won't stick around here long. I just need to get a few things." A few minutes latter our food arrived. She looked at me for a minute then said "Sorry Skye...but I don't think they'd appreciate you eating up here." She then set my bowel on the ground next to her.

Huffing in annoyance I jumped down from the stool and began to eat. 'Did it have to be ramen?' People back in Konaha thought I loved ramen since I ate it all the time but that isn't true. I ate it all the time because it was cheap and I didn't have much money.

Once done we headed off in to the city streets. "You know I wish you could tell me what happened to you. It really pisses me off when people hurt animals for no reason."

I looked up at her as we walked. 'Animal lover.'

"Ah here we go." She said as she suddenly stopped.

Looking up I saw it was a weapons shop. 'Alright now this is my kind of place.' I thought and quickly followed her inside. She went towards the back of the store and I headed towards a large display of kunais. 'Man I can definitely use some new kunais.' To bad I was now a fox and had no way of getting them or using them. Sighing I went to see what Dakota was doing.

She was looking over a number of scrolls and it seemed like she was having a bit of trouble locating the kind she wanted.

A man came up and asked "Can I help you?"

She looked him over for a minute then said "I need some sealing scrolls but you don't seem to have any."

The man frowned and looked over the scrolls. "I may have some in the back. I'll be right back." He said then he walked away. Sighing Dakota wandered over to the display of kunai's I had been looking at earlier and looked them over. "Here you go." The man said appearing next to her. Dakota took the scroll he held out to her. "I'm sorry but we only have one. We'll be getting more in a week so you're welcome to come back then."

"I'm afraid I won't be here that long but this will do." She said then followed him up to the cash register.

Once out side Dakota scooped me up and placed me on her shoulder. This didn't bother me any more. I'd gotten used to it over the past few days. "This will help a lot." She said looking over the scroll. I was curious about what she would seal inside it. After this she went to a hotel and got a room. She laid on the bed and sighed. "Man...it's been way to long since I've slept on a bed..." She murmured sleepily.

I watched her from the floor next to the bed. She was asleep within minutes. 'Man what's with Dakota...she's kinda weird sometimes.' I thought as I shook my head. While she slept I explored the room. There wasn't much to it. Just the basics. A bed, bedside table, desk, small table set, and a bathroom. Bored I curled up on the bed next to Dakota and fell asleep. The sound of the shower woke me up a few hours latter. Opening my eyes I watched as Dakota came over to the bed.

"OK Skye time for us to get cleaned up." She said scooping me up.

'Wait...did she just say us?' I soon got my answer. She went in to the bathroom and shut the door. After sitting me down on the floor she began to undress. 'Oh shit!' I cried and it came out as a yip.

"Aw don't be a baby Skye." She said scooping me up once more. My entire body stiffened and my eyes widened. She wasn't wearing any clothes! Then she opened the sliding shower door and stepped inside shutting it behind her. The warm water hit me and she said "See Skye it's not so bad." She sat me down and proceeded to wash me thoroughly.

'Don't look...don't look...' I thought over and over again as I kept my eyes tightly closed. After she made sure I was completely clean and rinsed off she stood and washed herself. Cracking an eye open I felt like I was going to pass out. The quick glimpse I caught showed Dakota's body lathered with soap. I quickly turned my back to her. 'Lord I don't know if I can keep doing this!' If things like this kept happening I wasn't going to live much longer.

Hearing the water turn off I waited for Dakota to wrap herself in a towel before I turned around. I watched as she knelt down and proceeded to dry me off. Ten minutes latter we were both dry and she was finally dressed once more. After that she then proceeded to brush my fur out. At first I tried to get away but then...I dunno it just...felt really good! I laid on my side and my mind went blank. Then I was snapped out of it when I heard a strange sound. Blinking I laid there trying to figure out what it was...then it clicked. I was purring... 'Aw man..' I thought. I tried to get my self to stop but in the end just gave up. So I laid there enjoying the feeling of Dakota brushing me and stroking my fur.


	4. Surprise: How many more can I handle?

**_Authoress note:_** Hey people how ya doin? Good I hope! Well I'm back with another chappie. I'm so glad you all like this so far. Now on to my reviewers! Konoka: I know Naruto in fox form is cute! --Huggles him-- My Naru-Kun always looks cute though --Cough-- Anyways! On to Leo! Here's one of the chapters I was telling you about. You better believe Naruto's gonna go through a lot more embarrassing stuff lol. I love doing that to him --Laughs evilly-- But we all know he likes it...right Leo? --Snickers-- I might even add some...special stuff for you. --Ahem-- Well I hope you all enjoy this chappie as much as the other ones. Please take care and R and R please!

* * *

The next day we went out and looked around the village once more. The streets were crowded and it was hard to move around. Because of this I rode on Dakota's shoulders. Neither one of us wanted me to get lost or trampled on. After a while we stopped at a jewelry store and went in. 'What's she up to?' I wondered. She went past all the displays and went straight to the counter. There an old man sat looking half asleep. 

He stood quickly when he saw us approaching. "How can I help you miss?" He asked smiling.

"I was wondering if you'd be able to make a charm for me."

"What do you have in mind?" Reaching up Dakota unclasped a necklace from around her neck and showed it to the man. "Ah that's a very nice charm you've got there." He said as he looked it over.

"Can you make another?"

"Yes but let me get a quick sketch of it." He then proceeded to draw an exact replica of the charm. "Do you want it the same size?"

"Yes please."

"Alright then. Come by tomorrow and it'll be done."

She nodded and left the store. As Dakota placed the necklace around her neck once more I got a good look at the charm. It was a sun burst. I was curious about the meaning. What could it be? I had no clue and it didn't seem like she was going to tell me anytime soon. After that we went and picked up some supplies.

We were deciding on where to have lunch when I suddenly felt someone grab me. Surprised I let out a yelp and turned to see it was a big man. He was smirking.

Dakota turned and demanded "Give him back!"

Ignoring her the man said "What a nice looking fox you got girl. To bad it's mine now."

'What the hell?' I thought as I struggled to get away.

"He's not yours now give him back or else."

The man looked her up and down and said "No way girl. This here fox has got to be worth a lot of money. A lot of people would pay big to have it's pelt." Her eyes widened in horror.

'There's no way you're skinning me!' I thought as I twisted around and bit his wrist as hard as I could. He yelled in pain and dropped me.

After I hit the ground Dakota swiftly kicked the man hard on the side of his head and he slammed in to a nearby wall. "Don't you ever touch him again. If you do I'll kill you." She said as she scooped me up. She looked me over and asked "Skye are you OK?" Besides being a little spooked I was fine. She burred her face in my fur and murmured "I'm so glad. I don't know what I would have done if you'd gotten hurt."

'She cares about me that much?' I thought surprised. No one besides Iruka-sensei had cared about me that much. 'Who're you kidding Naruto. She doesn't care about you she only cares about Skye the fox.' A small voice in my head said. Well now that hurt but could it be true? After all she only knew me as Skye a fox not Naruto the human. The rest of the day went smoothly.

"Wow that looks great." Dakota said as she stood in the jewelry shop the next day looking at the charm the man had made for her.

The man smiled and said "I'm glad you like it miss."

She paid for the charm and a chain then left the shop. Once outside she knelt down and sat me on the ground. I watched as she placed the charm on the chain. Then she looked up at me and said "Skye this charm is very special to me you see it's my clan symbol . Only members of my clan can wear it. You're my friend Skye but now if you don't mind I'm going to make you my family."

I looked at her stunned. She wanted me to be part of her family? But I was a fox! She sat and watched me apparently waiting for a response. I reached out my paw and placed it on her knee.

Smiling she said "I'll take that as a yes." Then she placed the necklace around my neck. "From now on Skye you are a member of the Kano clan and a member of my family." She said scooping me up and holding me close.

This was weird but I kinda liked it. Standing up she placed me on her shoulder once more and began to walk. "If you're wondering why I didn't put the charm on a collar it's because a collar means a pet. You aren't my pet Skye you're my family so I gave you a necklace instead."

I nodded in understanding. When I realized what I had done I stiffened slightly. Dakota only smiled in response. Why wasn't she freaking out that I nodded in response? Most people would because animals don't do that. Oh well that's just one more thing that makes Dakota unique.

Back at the room we were staying in Dakota proceeded to pack everything up. She packed her bag but some of it wouldn't fit. This is where the sealing scroll came in. She sealed her bag and the rest of the items that wouldn't fit in her bag inside it. "Now that's better." She said placing the scroll in her pocket. "Come on Skye it's time to leave this village."

We left the village half an hour latter. Since Dakota didn't have her backpack to slow her down anymore she was able to move more quickly through the forest. By the time night fell we were pretty far away. While she fixed dinner I laid curled up next to the warm fire.

Twitching a fly off of my ear I sighed and thought 'Can things possibly get worse than being stuck as a fox?' You ever hear people say you shouldn't think like that cause something will happen? Well it's true. Seconds after I thought this a huge clap of thunder sounded and a big bolt of lightning shot across the sky. I jumped in surprise and looked to the sky but it was to dark to see much of anything. Then the rain began to pour down.

"Ack! No why did it have to rain?" Dakota cried as she ran around gathering her belongings. Scooping me up she made a mad dash in to the forest to try and find a dry place for us to set up camp. It took a few minutes but we soon found a dense clump of trees where the ground underneath was dry. Grumbling to herself Dakota pulled out her sleeping bag and some dry clothes. As I watched I noticed she was shivering pretty badly. Then she began stripping off her wet clothes and I quickly shut my eyes. When I opened them she was changed in to dry clothes and was wrapping her sleeping bag around herself. I sneezed quite loudly and she looked over to me. "Come on Sky (Sky is short for Skye) or you'll catch a cold." She said as she opened her sleeping bag a little.

I climbed in thanking her for being so kind and laid down next to her. She stroked my fur and I slowly fell asleep. That night wasn't very kind to me. First the storm then I had nightmares. Angry people were chasing me. They cursed and threw things at me as well. Unknown to me I was whimpering and shaking in my sleep.

Dakota woke up and saw me like this. Worried she shook me awake. With a yelp I woke up and looked around my surroundings quickly. When I spotted Dakota I remembered where I was and calmed down. "Are you OK Sky?" She asked as she gently stroked my fur. Actually I didn't feel to good. My head hurt and so did the rest of my body. Groaning I laid my head down and wrapped my tail around me. A worried look crossed Dakota's face as she watched me. Looking at my eyes she saw they looked duller than they normally were. "Sky…you're sick." She murmured softly. In response I closed my eyes. The last thing I heard before I fell asleep was "Don't worry Sky I'll take care of you."

For the next two days I drifted in to and out of sleep constantly. My dreams at that time were…..odd to say the least. Dakota stayed by my side the whole time. She only left when it was necessary but wasn't gone for to long. She fed me broth and kept me cool to help fight off my fever. On the third day I awoke feeling a lot better. Looking around I saw that Dakota was gone. She must have gone to get some more water or something. Moving to sit up I fell flat on my face. "What the heck?" I said confused. Then I froze. 'Did I just speak?' I thought. I tried once more and sure enough I could speak. "How did this happen?" I asked out loud.

Shivering I looked down at myself and let out a cry of surprise. I was no longer a fox….but something was wrong. I still had my tail. Reaching up I felt my ears and found out they were still those of a fox. Hearing movement I looked up and saw Dakota coming in to the clump of trees that was our camp. When she spotted me she froze. I watched her as her eyes widened in shock.

"W-who are you?" She stammered. I blinked and cocked my head to the side. She looked to my tail then to my ears and asked "Skye?"

"Yes." I said softly.

She stumbled over to me and dropped to her knees. "How……when…..what…?" She stammered out confused.

"I'm not sure." I said truthfully.

"T-this is….so strange."

Sighing I said "You have no idea."

"Are you a fox or a human?"

Shifting positions I said "Well….um….I guess I'm sorta both."

Nodding she said "I see…" Then we stared at each other silently for a few minutes. "So…er…what now?"

"Well…do you mind if I stick with you?" I asked hesitantly.

Nodding she said "That would be a good idea. A half fox half human chibi wouldn't last long on their own."

My eyes widened and I cried "Chibi!"

"Yeah. Stand up and you'll see."

We both stood and I quickly discovered she was right. I barely went past he knee. Groaning I plopped down on to my butt. It was then I finally realized something. I was completely and utterly butt naked. I quickly wrapped my tail around my….lower half and felt my face flush. How could I of not noticed I was naked!


	5. Being a teenager can really suck

_**Authoress note:**_ Hey everyone! Here's chappie 5. I hope you all like this. I'm sorry it took so long. Long story short...life and writers block got in the way. Anyways lets get to the reviews. LEO I LUVED UR REVIEW! I busted up laughing when I read it! --Shifty eyes-- it made ero-chun pop out! Man girlie and I thought I was bad lol. Well it's like I've said before. EVERYONE has at least a little perverted streak in them lol. Also I knew that that was the way you'd read the note I left lol. Konoka I know a half fox half human chibi Naru-Kun is VERY cute! --Shrugs-- It may get cuter but I'm not sure. This is all made up on the spot. I sit down and start typing. Normally I have no time to plan ahead but know for sure there's going to be more embarrassing moments for him!

_**Disclaimer:**_ I've been a baaaaaad girl. I forgot to stick in this little evil thing known as a disclaimer. --Sigh-- though isn't it obvious I don't own Naruto? You guys know what I own and don't own. Well at least you should...anyways! This counts for ALL chappies in this story.

* * *

Dakota was currently digging through her clothes trying to find something for me to wear. "Sky this isn't going to be easy." 

I nodded and said "I know. It's not like you were expecting to have to clothe a chibi." Tightening my tail around me I sighed and continued to watch her.

"This will have to do." She said holding up a tank top.

I looked it over then took it and slipped it on. On her it showed her stomach but on me it went past my knees. "Thanks."

She smiled and said "No problem!" Then she headed out from under the clump of trees. I followed after her and looked around the clearing. I couldn't tell if it was my imagination or not but I still seemed to be able to see as well as I had when I was a fox.

Dakota went to the campfire where there was a pot of food simmering. Deep in thought I went to sit by the fire. 'Should I tell her?' I thought 'If you do she won't like you anymore.' A voice in my head said. Was that true? If Dakota knew that I was actually a human...Naruto Uzumaki to be specific would she hate me? Especially since she was from Konoha and she would know about the Kyuubi attack. I was so deep in thought that I was surprised when Dakota spoke.

"Hey Sky you OK?" She was kneeling in front of me holding a bowl.

I blinked and said "Yeah...I'm OK."

"If you say so." She said handing the bowl to me. Looking in to it I saw it held oatmeal.

We ate in silence for a while until Dakota spoke up. "So Sky where are you from?"

I thought carefully before I answered. "No where specific." I said shrugging.

She studied me silently for a few seconds then said as she stood "Fine Skye. It hurts me that you think you can't trust me enough to tell me." She then turned and walked away.

My jaw dropped in surprise and my brain froze. While I was in the land of the stunned Dakota went around packing up her belongings and putting out the fire.

"Come on it's time to go." She said appearing next to me. I pulled myself in to reality and looked up at her. Her voice sounded emotionless...and her face was just as bad.

"Dakota I-" I began before I was cut off.

She scooped me up and said "Hold on." She placed me on her back and I barely had enough time to grab a hold of her before she took off. I didn't have a chance to talk to her until we stopped for the night.

"Dakota I'm sorry." She stopped unrolling her sleeping bag and looked at me. "It's...just that...for most of my life everyone's hated me."

"I would have thought by now you'd have learned that I'm not like other people."

"Yeah I know that." She looked at me waiting for me to continue.

I sighed and said "I just didn't want to tell you because...you're the only person who hasn't hated me."

A shocked look crossed her face as she asked "But why?" Shaking my head I turned away from her. Feeling a hand on my shoulder I turned to see Dakota was kneeling down next to me. "Sky you can trust me." She said softly.

"You're from Konoha right?" She nodded and I said "I am to"

"Really?" She asked surprised.

"You've most likely heard my name before...It's Naruto...Naruto Uzumaki." I said softly.

Her hand tightened slightly on my shoulder as she said "Naruto...the Kyuubi container..." I twisted away from her and put some distance between us. There was a look of surprise on her face and I looked away. She was confused at my reaction for a few seconds then she remembered. When she was much younger she had been walking down a street in Konaha with her father. When they passed an alley they saw a large group of people. Her father called to them and they moved enough for the two to see a small boy laying on the ground. Her father grew angry and yelled at the men. The boy had been Naruo. Shaking her head Dakota said "I don't care if you're the Kyuubi container Naruto." I looked at her surprised. There was a small smile on her face as she said "I remember when I was little I played with you a couple of times."

"R-really?" I asked shocked.

"Yeah it was usually after you were hurt and my dad was talking to the Hokage when he found out you were hurt."

I thought for a minute but couldn't remember this. "I don't remember."

"That's not surprising. We were little." I nodded. "So...how did this happen?" She asked motioning towards my ears and tail.

Sighing I sat down and said "I'm not sure. All I remember is I was on my way back from a mission when I was ambushed. There was an explosion and the next thing I know is I'm waking up a fox."

She nodded slowly thinking. "Maybe...maybe some jutsu went wrong." She murmured.

My ears perked up and I said "Yeah! Maybe that's what went wrong...but then how'd I turn in to this?" I motioned to mean what I looked like now.

She shrugged and said "I'm not sure about that."

Groaning I asked "Why did this have to happen to me?"

Dakota was thinking once more when a look crossed her face. "Hold on a second...I...you...we..." I looked at her confused as she stammered and her face paled. "AIIIIEEEE! You saw me naked!" She screamed.

I jumped at the noise level. Face flushed red I said quickly "I didn't really see anything I swear! I always had my eyes closed or I was turned away."

She shuddered and said "Still." After a few minutes of silence she sighed and said "If we want to make good time tomorrow we better get some sleep."

"Alright...where am I gonna sleep?"

She gave me a look and said "With me of course!" She laughed softly when she saw the look of surprise on my face. "Or would you rather sleep on the cold hard ground?" Well...she had a point there. I waited for her to lay down then climbed in next to her. She shifted and I stiffened instinctively. "Night Naruto..." She said sleepily.

"Uh...night." A few minutes latter she was sound asleep. It took me longer to fall asleep. I couldn't help it. I was now a human again...er...well sort of and mentally I am a teenager. Sleeping next to a girl like this was...well...a little nerve racking. 'Just pretend you're still a full fox...yeah...you'll be alright.' Damn...being a teenager really sucked sometimes.

Once I fell asleep though I slept pretty good. For the first time I woke up before Dakota. When I woke up it was to find she had pulled me close to her and had wrapped her arms around me. The bad thing was that my face was...well it was smooshed into her chest. My face instantly flushed red and I quickly moved away from her. 'Oh man...' I thought as I sat trying to catch my breath. That was one big shock to have in the morning. Once I calmed down I stood and stretched my arms and legs. With my tail waving lazily I made my way in to the forest to...well you know.

When I came back I saw Dakota was up and digging through her bag. She looked up at me as I approached and said "Morning Naruto! I was gonna head down to the river and clean up. You wanna come?" The image of Dakota's body covered in soap suds flashed through my mind and my cheeks reddened. Dakota noticed this and said "Don't worry Naruto you wont be seeing anything you shouldn't." I nodded hesitantly and we headed for the river.

Once there I found out how she intended to keep me from seeing anything. Down in the water was a grouping of good sized rocks. She would stay on one side and I on the other. Stripping off the tank top I jumped in to the water and let out a yelp. It was colder than I thought it would be. Hearing Dakota laughing I said "What's so funny?"

She snickered and said "Oh nothing." Grumbling to myself I proceeded to bathe.

Glancing at my reflection in the water I noticed something. I didn't have just the ears and tail of a fox but my pupils were slitted and I had the sharp K-nine teeth of a fox. Blinking I leaned down closer to the water to get a better look at my eyes. "Cool..." I murmured.

"You finished Naruto?" Dakota called. Blinking I turned to look towards the rocks and saw she was fully clothed. "Yeah!" I called.

"I left you a clean shirt and a towel." She said then turned away to let me dry off and get dressed. Once dressed we headed back to camp. As she cooked breakfast I was trying to brush my tail out. It wasn't going to good. With a cry of frustration I threw the brush across the clearing.

Laughing Dakota shook her head and retrieved her brush. "Need some help?"

Sighing I said "Yes." She came and sat behind me and gently brushed my tail she then brushed my hair out for me. It felt pretty good. Just like before I melted in to a blob and a sound between a purr and a growl came from my throat. When she heard this Dakota stopped and raised an eye brow at me. Face flushing red I said "I can't help it!"

Laughing Dakota said "I understand Naruto."


	6. Konoha

**_Authoress note:_** Hey everyone sorry it's been so long since I've updated. I'm trying my best but things aren't moving to quickly. Especially since I have a psychology final coming up --Shudders-- Anyways! On to the reviews. Leo: lol well I guess I am a bit better at updating that you but not by much. So you liked the whole sharp k9 teeth thing huh? He he...you got a baaaaaaaad mind girlie! Konoka: lol I know wasn't it funny when she found out that he was actually a human and she had been bathing with him? lol and the purring thing. Just imagine an adorable little kittens purr...and that's what he does lol. Well enjoy and R and R please!

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We are now less than a day away from Konoha. Instead of traveling through the night and arriving in the morning Dakota and I decided to camp for the night. This was fine with me because there was still something I had to discuss with her. After dinner we sat around the fire enjoying the warm night. Dakota was stretched out on her back and looking at the stars. 

"Dakota how long has it been since you left Konoha?"

She was silent for a minute before answering. "Well….if I remember correctly it's been about three years now."

"Why so long?"

"I dunno really. I guess I just felt I wasn't ready to go back yet." I nodded in understanding. "What about you Naruto? What level are you?"

"Oh um I'm a Chuunin." This time she nodded and I asked "Are you a Chuunin?"

"No. I left before the exams and since then I haven't gone to take it. My parents wanted me to take the test before I left but I felt like I needed some more training first."

Once more I nodded in understanding. We sat in silence for a few minutes before I spoke up. "Dakota I was wondering if you could do me a favor."

She sat up and said "What is it?"

"Could you……not tell anyone in Konoha who I really am?"

She looked me over and said "Well I guess it would be embarrassing to be seen like that."

I quickly nodded and said "It'll only be until I figure out how to turn back."

She smiled at me and said "No problem Naruto…..er…..I guess it would be Skye now right?"

I gave her a grateful smile and said "Yeah. Thanks for everything……..you know for taking care of me and stuff."

"Hey I told you before Naruto. You're my friend……actually even though you turned out to be human you're still kinda like family to me." I looked at her stunned. Did she really mean that? To her I was a member of her family? I just couldn't believe it.

We arrived at the gates of Konoha around ten the next morning. Luckily Dakota had dug her papers out the night before so it didn't take to long to get in. Although the guards did stare at me. That was uncomfortable.

"Alright so are we going anywhere specific?" I asked as I looked around the street we currently stood on.

"Well…." she said sounding a bit hesitant.

I moved around on her back so I would be able to see her face. "Something wrong?"

"Well Na-….er I mean Skye it's just that I haven't been home for so long and my family has no clue I'm even back."

"Well…..that can cause an awkward situation but wouldn't it be worse if you didn't let them know you were back and they found it out from someone else?"

She sighed and said "Yeah…..I guess you're right." I nodded and she headed down the street.

"Er….so do you have any siblings?" I asked her as she walked.

"Yeah. An older brother and an older sister. Their twins. Kumori he's the oldest of the two and then it's Kiyoshi." I nodded hoping that Kumori wasn't the overly protective of his little sister type. Because if he was I may be in trouble. "Here we are." Dakota said stopping in front of a house.

I looked it over. It was a nice sized two story and looked well taken care of. Dakota took and deep breath then headed up the walk to the front door. She knocked and we waited. A few minutes latter the door opened to reveal a woman in her fifties. She had long black hair and kind looking blue eyes.

When she saw Dakota she let out a gasp. "D-Dakota?" Dakota nodded and her mother drew her in to a tight hug. I had to jump down from her back in order to not be smashed. "Oh Dakota honey it's been so long!" Her mother exclaimed as she let her go.

Dakota smiled and said "I know mom and I'm sorry."

Her mother looked her over and while she was doing so her eyes landed on me. "Dakota honey….what's that?"

Dakota knelt down and pulled me around so I was standing next to her. "Mom this is my friend Skye. Skye this is my mother Tara."

I smiled nervously up at her then said "It's nice to meet you Tara-san." as I bowed.

Her mother blinked then said "Oh er….yes it's nice to meet you as well. Please just call me Tara." I nodded and we all headed in to the house. Tara watched me as I sat on a chair in the kitchen drinking some tea. "So….Skye if you don't mind me asking….what are you?"

I blinked then said "Oh….well…..you see I'm not exactly sure what I am. I've been like this for as long as I could remember." I was proud of myself for remembering what Dakota and I had talked about the night before. We had known people would ask what I was so we decided to be partially honest and made up the rest.

Tara nodded then turned to her daughter and asked "Where did you find him?"

With out missing a beat Dakota said "I found him unconscious in the forest. He had been attacked by some local villagers. I took him in and treated his wounds and well he's been with me ever since."

'That was awesome!' I thought to myself. Dakota had played her part perfectly.

She and her mother chatted for a while longer before Dakota stood and said "I think I'm going to go get cleaned up then take a nap. We've been traveling for days now."

Tara nodded and watched as her daughter scooped me up and left the room. 'There's something oddly familiar about that boy….' She thought as we left.

Out of ear shot Dakota sighed and said "Well I guess that went pretty well."

I nodded and said "Yeah it did."

She smiled and said "Alright. Now if you don't mind I'm going to get cleaned up first."

I shrugged and said "No problem."

A few minutes latter I sat on her bed alone looking around her room. It was pretty good sized. It had a big comfy bed on one wall and on the opposite wall sat a desk. The wall to the left of the bed had a large window seat with bookshelves built around it and the wall opposite of that held her closet. I was deciding on whether or not to go and see what kind of books she had on her shelves when she came walking back in to the room. Luckily for me she was fully clothed.

Dakota grabbed a hair brush and sat down on the bed next to me. "Sorry I took so long. Just let me brush my hair out and I'll get everything ready for you."

"It's OK you don't need to rush on my account." After she brushed her hair out she went to her closet to find something for me to wear.

As she did so I climbed off the bed and went over to the book shelves. There were all kinds of books. Some looked really old and others looked practically brand new. Not all the shelves contained books. A couple of the higher up ones held little trinkets one of which was an old looking kunai.

"You have a nice room." I said as I turned back towards the closet.

"Thanks." Came her muffled reply. She was currently digging in to the back of her closet. When she came out she held four different shirts. "This is all I can find. I'm gonna have to go out and buy you some clothes."

I sighed and said "I'm sorry."

"For what?"

"For causing you so much trouble."

A look crossed her face and she came to kneel down in front of me. "Now you listen to me Skye. You have never caused me any trouble. Do you understand?" I nodded silently and she smiled. "Good now if you'll follow me I'll show you where the bathroom is."

I followed after her silently. Wondering if she meant what she said. 'Well whether or not she means it I'm going to repay her when I get back to normal.' With what I had no clue.

"Alright now Skye which shirt do you want to wear?" She asked as she held the shirts up for me to examine. I looked them over then chose a blue shirt that had the leaf symbol on it. After that she left me alone so I could shower in private. Ah the wonders of indoor pluming.


	7. Shopping

**_Authoress note: _**Hey everyone sorry it's been so long. The internet on my lap top wasn't working and that's where all the info for my stories are. Anyways it's time for reviews! Konoka: I know her room is awesome! I'd love to have one like that to lol. Well there aren't any other intros of the other characters in this chappie so you'll have to wait a little longer to see if the girls will go crazy when they see cute little Naruto. I'm mean I know but you'll most likely get the answer to that question in the next chappie. I'm glad you liked the chappie. Leo: LOL everyone loves her room! Actually that's sorta like my dream room lol. I'm glad you liked this so much. Here's the update...you know why it took so long...but luckily my Dad had time to fix it right? Well enjoy everyone. R and R please!

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The next morning I woke up to find myself alone in Dakota's bed. Yes I was still sleeping next to her……I'm not exactly sure why though. Anyways I got up and stretched after that I went in search of Dakota. I found her down in the kitchen sitting at the table.

Dakota spotted me instantly as I entered the room. Smiling she said "Morning Sky."

"Morning…" I murmured sleepily.

I was just climbing on to a chair when Tara came walking in from the back yard. "I see you're finally up. How about some breakfast?"

I nodded and asked "What time is it?"

"Almost ten." Dakota said as she sat down the book she had been reading.

"What?" I said surprised.

"Well you were pretty tiered so I decided to let you sleep. After all there really wasn't a reason for getting up early today."

Well I guess she was right about that. I was almost finished eating when a man walked in to the kitchen. He looked exhausted. "You're home earlier than I expected honey." Tara said as she went to give the man a hug.

"Yeah well it went faster than expected." The man said. Noticing Dakota he smiled and said "Morning Dakota."

Smiling Dakota said "Morning dad." Her father had silver hair just like hers and even had the same eyes. His name was Raven. I had met him last night before he had to leave for a mission. He was a jounin so he had a lot of them to go on. Raven nodded at me and I said good morning to him. After that he headed upstairs to get some sleep.

Standing Dakota said "Well I guess now's as good a time as any to go out."

"Go out?" I asked.

"Yup we gotta get you some clothes Sky. Well unless you like running around in my shirts that is."

"No I'd like some clothes that fit me thanks." I said jumping down from the chair.

"OK then go get cleaned up then we can go." I hurried from the room to get ready. Dakota looked to her mother and saw she had a smile on her face. "What is it?"

"It's just that….well….he's so cute!" Dakota couldn't help but smile back at her mother.

Ten minutes latter Dakota and I were walking down the main street of the shopping district. "Alright Sky where should we start?" She asked as she looked down at me.

Shrugging I said "I have no clue."

She looked at the shops around then pointed to one. "How about that one?" Walking over to the store I peered in to the window. It looked OK. Once we stepped inside we were instantly met by a woman.

She smiled brightly at us and said "Hello there! How may I help you?"

"Er we were just looking." Dakota said as she grabbed my hand and began to drag me off.

"Oh but please let me show you some of the most adorable outfits!" The woman cried as she motioned to a display of clothes. All of which were…well….let's just say that one was a little sailor outfit.

"No that's OK." Dakota said as she practically ran away from the woman.

Once we were a safe distance away she stopped. "Man….she was creepy." I said.

Nodding Dakota said "Yeah…..and she wanted to put you in a sailor outfit." She then began to laugh. I shot her a none to friendly look and she stopped. Once she calmed down we began the search for clothes.

I decided to go with something besides orange this time. The main colors I got were white, black, reds, and blues. When we had gotten a good amount of clothes we headed for the cash register. Luckily for us though the creepy woman wasn't there.

"Well now aren't you a little cutie." The woman at the register said as she looked me over. I gave her a small smile hoping she wasn't like the other woman. "I have a boy of my own about your age." I nodded silently. Then she looked at Dakota and asked "Is he yours dear?"

Dakota's jaw dropped and her eyes widened. She stared at the woman in complete shock. Once that wore off she said "Oh uh no. He's my……cousin."

The woman gave her an apologetic look and said "Sorry about that."

Dakota smiled and said "It's OK." We left a few minutes latter. "I can't believe she thought I was your mother." She said as she looked down at me. Heck I couldn't believe it myself. I mean come on we look nothing alike! Her hair was silver and her eyes were tri colored. My hair was blond and I had blue eyes. Oh well people can be weird sometimes. "OK so we have clothes for you. Now all we need are some shoes." Dakota said as she looked down at my bare feet. I nodded in agreement. So we set out for a shoe store.

When we finished I looked like an average little kid….well except for the tail, ears, fangs, and slitted eyes. I now wore a white shirt that had the Konoha symbol on it and regular black shorts with black ninja sandals.

"Say Sky where did you live?" She asked as we walked down the street a while latter.

Shrugging I said "Around."

"Come on Sky you can tell me." She said looking down at me.

Looking away from her I said "I live on the east side of the city."

She seemed to be thinking for a minute before she said "Oh OK." We walked on in silence for a while until she stopped suddenly. Dropping the bags of clothes she had been carrying she scooped me up and hugged me tightly. Letting out a yelp of surprise I looked up at her with wide eyes. "I'm sorry Naruto…" She said softly so only I could hear.

OK I was confused. "For what?"

Loosening her grip so I could look at her properly she said "I shouldn't of asked you. I know you haven't…..well haven't exactly had the best life."

Now I understood. Shaking my head I said "It's OK Dakota. You were just curious. I would be to after all." She looked down at me with sad eyes. What I did next surprised me. I wrapped my arms around her neck and hugged her tightly. Burying my face in to the side of her neck I said "Please don't look at me like that. You don't need to worry I'm OK."

A few seconds after I said this she tightened her arms around me once more. "I'll protect you from now on Naruto…..you won't be alone anymore." She said softly in to my ear causing it to twitch slightly. I nodded against her neck in reply. What was happening to me? I've never acted like this before in my life. Oh well I could worry about that latter right now I just want to enjoy the feeling of Dakota's arms around me and her comforting warmth.


	8. Decisions and meeting new people

_**Authoress note:**_ Hey everyone! I'm back with the next chappie. Sorry to say not much goes on in this one though. I guess it would be considered a filler...I think. Well a little tiny bit of something happens at the end...--'' sorry. I'm still fighting writers block and right now this is the best I can do. I may latter on take this chappie down and either redo it or do a completely different one I don't know for sure yet. Anyways to the thank yous! Leo: Thanks for reviewing! (Huggles) You're always so nice to read and review my cruddy stories. I'm glad you liked the last chappie but I have a feeling you wont like this one. Oh well...there isn't anything I can do at this point. Enjoy (Though I bet you wont...) and R and R please!

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Dakota's Point Of View**

It's been a little over a week since we arrived back in Konoha. So far Naru- er I mean Skye has adjusted pretty well. Since there was no spare room for him to sleep in he still shared my bed. I really had no problem with this. In fact….it was kinda nice having him there next to me. I was currently laying on my side looking down at Sky while he slept. He looked so……relaxed and happy.

I watched as one of his ears twitched and he rolled on to his back mumbling something I couldn't understand. Glancing at the clock I saw it was almost eight. With a sigh I climbed out of bed careful not to wake Sky and gathered my things together for a shower.

As the warm water poured down on me my mind began to wander. Was Naruto going to stay like that for the rest of his life? If so then what was he going to do? There is no way he could make it on his own. For one people may think he was a demon and attack him and others may capture him since you don't normally see a chibi human/fox. These questions kept spinning around in my head and in the end I ended up with a head ache…….wonderful. Blocking the questions as best I could I finished my shower and headed back to my room.

Naruto was still asleep. In fact he was half way off the bed. His upper body was hanging off the bed to be exact . 'That looks really uncomfortable.' I thought as I shook my head. How was he able to sleep like that? That was a question I would most likely never get the answer to. As I sat down on the edge of the bed and reached out to shake him awake I came to a decision. No matter what would happen I would always be there for him. Even if he was stuck in this form for ever. I gently shook him and slowly his eyes opened up.

Blinking up at me he said "Morning." Smiling I returned the greeting and was about to warn him of how he was laying but it was to late.

He moved to sit up and fell completely off of the bed landing on his head.

"Skye are you OK?" I asked worried as I knelt down next to him.

Sitting up he rubbed his head and said "Yeah….but remind me not to do that again." I couldn't help but laugh. After he got cleaned up and we had breakfast we headed out to the training grounds. We were meeting Kiyoshi there so she and I could train. Sky had met her a few days ago. Whenever I think about what happened when they met I can't help but laugh.

Beginning of flash back

"Kiyoshi this is my friend Skye." I said as she looked down at him. Sky looked up at her nervously and waited for her reaction. Kiyoshi blinked slowly then before anyone knew what was going on she had scooped him up and was holding him in a tight hug as she rubbed her cheek against his like a cat. "Oh he's sooooo cute!" She cried.

End of flash back

It had taken another ten minutes to get her to calm down after that. Poor Sky was so shocked he hadn't been able to do anything. A few minutes latter when we arrived at the clearing I saw Kiyoshi was already there. "Hey you two you're late!" She said.

"Sorry about that Kiyoshi. I slept latter than planned."

Shrugging she said "It's OK. Now lets get started. I have to leave in a few hours for a mission." Kiyoshi like her father and twin brother was a jounin.

Sky went to sit under a tree as I slid in to my fighting stance. "Alright let's see who wins this time." I said.

Smirking Kiyoshi said "It's gonna be me little sister."

Returning her smirk I said "Yeah we'll see about that." (Since I can't write a fight scene to save my life I'll leave it up to you guys to imagine the fight…..sorry.) In the end Kiyoshi and I were both flat on our backs gasping for air.

"I….guess it's a tie." Kiyoshi said as she struggled to sit up.

Following her example I said "Yeah I guess."

"Well congratulations little sister you've improved."

"A little."

Raising an eye brow Kiyoshi said "A little? No way Dakota you've improved a lot. I guess all that training you did when you were away did some good." She was right. I knew that it's just I've had no one to fight with except my own clones so I didn't really know for sure if and how much I'd improved. Sky cam over then and smiled down at me.

"What's up?" I asked.

"Nothing except what your sister said is true."

Standing I said "Yeah I know."

Frowning Sky asked "Is there something wrong?"

I looked around the field we were in then said "Nah….I'm just thinking." He looked like he wanted to ask about what but Kiyoshi had come to stand next to us.

"I gotta get going now sis. I'll see you latter." She said as she pulled me in to a hug.

I returned it and said "Be careful." Kiyoshi smiled then was gone in a puff of smoke. Looking back down at Sky I said "Well let's head back."

He smiled and said "Sure! I'll race ya. Last one there has to clean our room alone!" Before I could say a word he took off.

"No fare Skye!" I cried as I ran after him. Within minutes the first buildings of the village came in to view. Sky looked behind to see where I was and let out a yelp when he saw I was less than three feet and closing behind him. When I saw his surprised face I smirked and said "There's no way you're gonna beat me."

Turning to face forward again Sky smirked as he entered the village. "Hah I win!" He cried happily.

"Ahem." I said from right beside him.

Turning slowly to face me his jaw dropped in surprise. "No way!"

Smirking I said "Yup. It's a tie."

Shaking his head Sky said "No I won."

"Nope."

"Yes I did."

This continued on for a few minutes until a voice interrupted us. "Um….excuse me but is there something wrong?" A girl asked. Sky and I turned towards her surprised. The girl had black hair and milky white eyes.

"Oh…he he…no nothings wrong." I said quickly.

A relieved smile crossed the girls face as she said "Oh that's good."

Sky jumped on to my back and whispered in to my ear. "I know her. Her names Hinata."

Smiling I said "You wouldn't happen to be Hinata would you?"

The girl looked surprised as she said "Yes how did you know?"

"I've heard some people talking in the village." I said quickly so as not to cause trouble.

Hinata nodded and was opening her mouth to speak when another voice interrupted her. "There you are Hinata." A boy said as he came to stand next to her. He looked a lot like her.

"Sorry about that Neji." She said.

He however wasn't paying attention to her. Instead he was studying Skye and I. "Who are you?" He demanded.

I blinked in surprise. Wow he was blunt. "I'm Dakota and this is my friend Skye." I said pointing to Sky who was still on my shoulder.

Neji looked Sky over closely. "What is he?" He demanded.

Frowning I said "Well now that's none of your business." Neji looked a bit angry now.

I guess Hinata could sense the oncoming fight because she said "We better hurry Neji. Father is expecting us."

Neji glared at me for a few seconds then said "Let's go."

As he began to walk away Hinata gave us an apologetic smile and said "It was nice to meet you. Maybe we'll run in to each other again." I nodded and she hurried off.

"Man what's his problem?" I asked as I watched them go.

"Don't mind Neji. He's always like that but Hinata is really nice." Sky said.

I nodded then said "There's something familiar about them."

"What?"

I thought for a moment before I finally remembered. "They must be from the Hyuuga clan. Dad's friends with the clan leader."

Sky looked surprised as he said "Really? I never would have guessed."

"Why?"

"Well because your father is really kind and Hinata's is…well…..he isn't as kind."

"Well anyways we better be getting back. We still have a room to clean."

Sky groaned and asked "Do we have to?"

"Yes. Actually it should only be you since almost all of the mess is your stuff." He groaned once more. Laughing I said "But since I'm so nice I'll help you out."

"Thank you!" He cried happily as he threw his arms around my neck in a tight hug.


	9. More intros and shopping

_**Authoress note:**_ Hello everyone. Sorry it took so long to update. I would have posted this two days ago but the site wouldn't let me. Anyways time for the reviews! _Konoka:_ LOL I'm glad I was able to give you the Naruto/Chibi-ness you were missing. _Leo:_ It's OK it took you so long to read this I understand. Same with the cleaning. I dislike it to lol. (Huggles) I'm glad you don't think my chappies are cruddy and yes Naruto is VERY cute!!! OK so I tried my best to fit in some humor this time. Tell me if you guys like it or not. Oh and I also threw in another lil bit of intros. Enjoy and R and R please!!!

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Two days have passed since I had met Hinata and Neji. During those two days not much happened. Well….unless you count Sky ending up head first in side of an old tree trunk something. Anyways I was walking down the street on the way to buy a few groceries for Mom and Sky was around somewhere. He was close so if he got in to trouble I'd know it but he was far enough to be doing his own thing.

Half way to the store I spotted Hinata. She wasn't alone. There were two guys and a jounin with her. 'Must be her team.' I thought.

Spotting me Hinata smiled and said "Oh hi Dakota."

Returning her smile I said "Hey Hinata what's up?"

"Mmm…I was just heading back from practice with my team." She said motioning towards the two boys and jounin.

I smiled at them and said "Hey nice to meet you. I'm Dakota."

The woman smiled and said "You wouldn't happen to be the youngest daughter of Raven Kano would you?"

Grinning I said "Yup."

"Well it's great to finally meet you Dakota. I'm Kurenai. Your father talks a lot about you." I blushed a little at this and she laughed. "These are my other students. Shino and Kiba." Kurenai said pointing to each boy. I gave them a smile in response.

"Dakota where's Skye?" Hinata asked.

"Skye?" I asked in return. She nodded and I looked around our surroundings. I didn't see him any where. Frowning I said "He was here a minute ago." Hinata looked around as well but he was still no where to be seen. Cursing softly I said "I'm sorry but I have to go find him. He shouldn't be left alone."

"Can I help?" Hinata asked.

"If you want to." I said then turned and hurried away. After five minutes of searching I found him. He was sitting out side of the weapons shop looking mad. "Sky!" I called as I hurried up to him.

"Oh hi Dakota." He said with a small smile.

Frowning I said "Where have you been? I've been worried sick!"

A surprised look crossed his face as he said "I'm sorry."

I scooped him up and held him close. "Don't ever do that again."

"Good you found him." Hinata said as she and her team came up behind us.

Turning I smiled and said "Yup." Sky looked them over and smiled at Hinata.

She returned it and said "I'm glad to see you're safe Skye. Dakota was very worried."

An embarrassed look crossed his face as he said "I know. I just wanted to check out the shop but they wouldn't let me in."

"Well of course not. You're only a little kid." Kiba said.

Shooting him a look Sky said "Mind your own business." Needless to say everyone but me was shocked.

"Sky don't be so rude." Frowning he moved so he was on my back instead of in my arms. Recently I have learned of how stubborn he is. Shaking my head I said "Anyways thanks for helping me to find him."

Kurenai nodded and said "No problem but may I ask what he is?"

Glancing at Sky I said "Well……we're not really sure. He says he's been like this for as long as he could remember."

Frowning Kurenai asked "Where did you find him?"

"In a village a long ways from here. Some villagers had cornered him and I helped him out." Frown still in place Kurenai studied Sky. "Something wrong?" I asked.

"It's just that something about him seems familiar." Sky stiffened and she continued. "I just can't figure out what though."

Feeling the worry from Sky I said "Well it was nice meeting you all. Please excuse us we have a few errands to run." Once on our own again I pulled Sky from my back and asked if he was OK.

"Yeah….I'm fine." he murmured.

Frowning I said "Something's bugging you."

He looked at me then looked away. "Were you really that worried about me?" He asked softly.

"Of course Sky."

He fidgeted a little then said "I'm sorry. It's just I'm not used to this."

Ah….now I understood. Moving so we were in a side alley I sat him down and knelt in front of him. "Naruto I know you're knew to this and that it might be a little over whelming but remember this. You are my family and no matter what you will always be. So I will always care about you and that includes worrying If you wander off with out telling me." He finally looked up at me and I was shocked to see tears in his eyes.

"Thank you…." He said as his tears began to fall.

I quickly pulled him in to a tight embrace and said "You're very welcome." It took him a few minutes to calm down and once he did we headed to the grocery store.

"So what was it we needed to get?" Sky asked as we walked down a aisle.

Pulling out a piece of paper that my Mom had given me I said "Rice, ginger, eggs, milk, miso, and codfish."

"Interesting combination."

Laughing I said "Well it's not all for the same dish Sky."

"I know." He said laughing as well.

"I'll go get the fish, miso, milk and eggs. Can you get the ginger and rice?"

"No problem! Meet you at the check out counter." He said before hurrying off. 'OK first the rice.' He thought as he headed down an aisle. Looking to the shelves he frowned. The rice was on the fourth shelf.

He could barely see over the third. Looking up and down the aisle he saw no one else around. "Oh well here goes nothing." He said as he began to carefully climb the shelves. Just as he was grabbing a bag of rice the shelves began to shake. 'Oh shit!' He thought seconds before he fell. Landing hard on his butt he looked up in time to see several bags of rice falling…..headed straight towards him. With a yelp of pain the rice landed heavily on his head and a few bags burst open sending thousands of grains of rice all over the aisle.

Sky sat there in the middle of the mess in a daze. The first thought he had was 'My head REALLY hurts.' Then his mind cleared. Just as he was climbing to his feet the sound of footsteps reached his ears. "Oh man if I'm caught like this I'll be skinned alive!" He said grabbing a bag of rice that hadn't burst open and made a run for it.

A clerk rounded the corner in time to see something blond disappear around the other corner. Then he saw the mess. The people in the shop who were happily minding their own business were then jolted from their own happy little worlds by a loud scream of "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

Hearing this I turned and looked around. Seeing nothing out of the ordinary I shrugged and turned back to looking over the fish on display.

Meanwhile Sky had made a clean get away and had hurried to the area where the vegetables were. Looking around he spotted the ginger and hurried up to it. The bin it was in was to high for him to reach. 'Not again….' Man being short could really suck sometimes. Once more he looked around. There were a few people around but no one seemed to notice him. Setting the rice down Sky looked up at the bin. Squaring his shoulders he jumped up and managed to grab the rim of the bin. Luckily it held his weight.

Pulling himself up Sky perched on the edge of the bin and examined the ginger. "Ah here we go.." He said as he reached out and picked up a piece. Jumping down he picked up the rice and headed for the check out counter not noticing the rather large woman approaching him from the side. Seconds latter the woman slammed in to him and he fell and hit the ground hard. The woman let out a cry of surprise as she stumbled backwards and in to a bin of tomatoes. Picking himself up Sky looked at the woman as she struggled to get out of the bin. She looked like a turtle that was stuck on it's back. All the struggling did was cause her to squish more tomatoes thus she soon became covered in them. Seeing people beginning to hurry to her aid Sky decided it would be best if he left.

I was standing at the check out counter waiting for Sky when I spotted him hurrying towards me from the veggie section of the store. He was carrying the rice and ginger and one of his ears was twitching. "Hey Sky are you OK?" I asked worried when he approached me.

"Yeah I just hit my head."

Frowning I took the items and sat them on the counter. Kneeling down next to him I looked at his head and found a rather large bump. "Wow Sky that's a pretty big bump." I said as I gently poked it.

He let out a yelp and jumped away. "That hurts you know!"

Laughing I said "I'm sorry but I couldn't resist." He mumbled something I couldn't understand as I turned to pay for the food. As we were leaving the store I saw a rather large woman surrounded by clerks. She was covered in tomatoes and seemed to be ranting about how she was going to sue the store. 'OK….' I thought shaking my head. People around here are really weird.


	10. Missing: Where did you go?

**Authoress Note:** Hey everyone I'm back and have a quick question. Why hasn't anyone reviewed for the last chappie of this story? Was it really that bad? I understand you all have lives outside of this site but I know you can find at least a minute to leave a review. I do after all. Well there was one review from one of my most loyal reviewers. _Konoka:_ Thanks for the review! I'm glad you liked the last chappie. You're right it was the woman's fault for crashing in to him. Sorry it took so long to update. It's just I'm still stuck and I'm feeling bad that no one seems to like my stories anymore. Anyways I hope you like this chappie. I have one warning for you before you read it though. It's sad. That's all I'll say though. Enjoy! R and R please!

* * *

After the interesting trip to the grocery store Sky and I hurried home. Once there he hurried up to my room….well actually I guess it would be both of ours now. I wasn't sure what he was up to and I couldn't go and check because my mother had roped me in to helping her cook dinner. I just hoped he wasn't up to anything bad. A while latter I went to tell him dinner was ready but he wasn't in our room.

Frowning I went to check the bathroom but he wasn't there either. Getting a little worried now I quickly checked the rest of the house. Sky was no where to be found. By this time I was panicking and Mom was trying to get me to calm down. However it wasn't working.

"Just stay calm Dakota. We'll go and look around the village. I'm sure he's fine." She said in a reassuring voice. I on the other hand had a really bad feeling.

Mom and I split up. She went west and I headed east. I just wished the rest of my family had been there to help but they were away on missions. I checked every place I could think of but I still couldn't find him. In all of my life I don't think I had ever been as worried as I was now. Up to that point I don't think I had realized how much I really cared about Sky. I mean I knew I cared about him but not to this degree. Hours latter I met up with Mom back at our house. She hadn't found him.

Close to tears I said "Mom….I just know something bad has happened to him."

"Dakota you don't know that for sure." She said trying to get me to calm down.

Shaking my head I said "No. I know something bad happened and I need to find him." With that I took off. She didn't even try to stop me. I guess she knew she wouldn't have been able to. Inch by inch I searched the village then the training grounds but still he was no where to be found. As the sun began to rise I collapsed to the ground in one of the training fields exhausted. My fear and worry had sucked up all of my strength. Wrapping my arms around myself I began to cry. "Where are you?" I asked between sobs. Naturally there was no response. The only sounds besides my sobs were the birds who were beginning to wake up.

I'm not sure how long I had been there before someone found me. It could have been minutes or even hours. I had lost track of time. Heck I didn't even care at the moment. All I knew was that something had happened to Sky and that I needed to find him before it was to late.

The sudden sound of someone talking startled me out of my thoughts. With tears still streaking down my face I looked up to see several people had entered the clearing. One of them was Hinata. I watched as she hurried over to me with a worried look on her face.

"Dakota! What is it what happened?" She asked as she dropped down next to me. I looked up at her with desperate and pleading eyes. Looking around the clearing Hinata saw that there was no one there besides the group she had come with. That was wrong. Someone was missing.

Frowning she asked "Dakota…….where's Skye?" Hearing his name just sent me over the edge. I began sobbing once more. My whole body was shaking with each pain filled sob. Hinata quickly pulled me in to a hug trying to get me to calm down.

"Hinata what's going on?" A girl asked as she approached us.

Hinata looked up at the girl and said "I'm not sure but something's really wrong." The girl knelt down next to us and began to try and calm me down as well. It took a while but I finally managed to stop crying. Hinata watched my every move with worried eyes. Once I had calmed down she asked "Dakota are you hurt?" I shook my head no. "Did something happen to Skye?" She knew she hit the right mark when she saw tears well up in my eyes once more.

Forcing them down I finally managed to speak. "I…I don't know." I said softly.

Frowning once more Hinata asked "What do you mean?"

Straitening up and wiping the remaining tears from my face I said "I don't know what happened. He was in our room last night while Mom and I were cooking dinner. I went up to tell him it was time to eat but he wasn't there."

"Where did he go?"

Shaking my head once more I said "I don't know. I searched the house but he wasn't there. Mom and I searched the village but we still couldn't find him. I've been looking all night…..I know something happened to him."

The girl who had come to sit beside us asked "Is it possible this Skye person just wandered off?"

"No….no he wouldn't leave. Not without me."

"That's not true." A male voice said. Looking up I was surprised to see other people in the clearing. I had forgotten about them. The boy who had spoken was Shino.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"He wandered off yesterday afternoon. We helped you to find him remember? Maybe he just wandered off again."

"No! He wouldn't just wander off. He told me he wouldn't. He knows it's to dangerous for him to go off on his own." I said angrily.

"Please Dakota don't get angry. Shino doesn't mean anything by it." Hinata said hoping to prevent a fight. I didn't respond.

"Did you search the training grounds?" The girl beside us asked.

I nodded and said "Yeah….all of them."

"If you want we can help you look." Another voice said. Looking up I saw it was another girl. Her hair was up in buns and she had a kind face. I nodded and she said "Alright then we need to make up a plan."

After quick introductions everyone split up in to three groups of four. Since Hinata, Shino, and Kiba knew what Skye looked like they were each placed on a separate team. On the first team was Kiba, Lee, Sakura, and Sasuke. The second one was Shino, Neji, Ino, Chouji (Did I spell his name right?). The third and final team was made up of Me, Hinata, TenTen, and Shikamaru. We all agreed to meet back in the spot we were in in three hours. Each team took off in different directions. Some rather reluctantly (Meaning Neji, Sasuke and Shikamaru).

Hinata gave me an encouraging smile and said "Don't worry Dakota we'll find him no matter what." I was really grateful. I just hoped we would find him in time and that he wouldn't be seriously hurt.


	11. Found: Are you OK?

_**Authoress Note:**_ Hey everyone I'm back. Sorry it took so long to update. I just want to say that this chappie isn't very long and I apologize fot it. Now on to reviews! _**Konoka:**_ (Huggles) Thanks for always reviewin! You're one of my top reviewers and I'm grateful for that. I know...Naru-kun missing while a chibi isn't a good thing at all. You'll have to read this chappie to see how it turns out. **_Demon F0rce:_** Ah one of my most loyal reviewers...er...well you're still new to my stories but you've reviewed nearly all of them and are totally hooked so I guess that would make you a loyal reviewer...right? Anyways I'm very happy you like my stories and are even willing to defined them against flamers. (Huggles) You're so nice! Well that's all. Please R and R. Enjoy!

* * *

Time seemed to fly by for me. Before I knew it it had been three hours and we had to go and meet up with the others. There had been no sign of Skye. Instead of crying I just stared straight ahead. I'd run out of tears back at the training ground before we had split up. 

"Don't worry Dakota I'm sure one of the others found him." Hinata said in an encouraging voice. I really hoped so. If they didn't find him I don't know what I'm going to do. Why did he disappear?

"Alright did anyone find him?" TenTen asked as we came in to the clearing. There was only Shino, Neji, Ino, and Chouji the others weren't there.

"Where's everyone else?" Shikamaru asked.

"They haven't come back yet." Ino said in an annoyed voice.

"Maybe they found him!" Hinata exclaimed sounding hopeful. Seconds after she said this Lee came rushing in to sight.

"Hey Lee what's going on?" TenTen asked.

"Hurry guys we've found him!" Lee cried.

My head shot towards him. "Where?"

"A few miles from here."

"Show me." Lee nodded and turned back towards the direction he had come from. He took off and the others hurried close behind.

Five minutes latter we came to a clump of trees where Kiba, Sakura, and Sasuke were standing.

"Thank goodness you're here Dakota! We can't get him to come out." Sakura said frowning.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"Kiba tried to get him and he attacked him." She explained. Needless to say I was shocked. Why the heck would Sky attack Kiba?

"Um alright everyone stay back." I said moving closer to the clump of trees. The others quickly moved back not wanting to be attacked by the little boy. Kneeling down I peered in to the trees. I had to squint before I was able to see anything in the shade made by the trees. A couple of feet away Skye laid curled on the ground his tail wrapped around him and his eyes closed.

"Sky?" I said softly. He flinched and pulled himself in to a tighter ball. "Skye it's me Dakota." A whimper was the only response he gave.

"Dakota is he OK?" Hinata asked.

Frowning I said "I don't know it's to hard to tell from here." Making my mind up I began to crawl in to the clump of trees. Sky's ear twitched and he whimpered again. 'Oh Sky please be OK.' I thought as I fought my way towards him. Once I was close enough I reached out and grabbed him.

Instantly Skye began to struggle. "No! No let me go!"

"Sky please calm down. It's me Dakota!" I said over his shouts. He just kept struggling. "Skye please it's OK you're safe now."

"No no let me go please let me go!" He cried in a terrified voice.

Pulling him close I leaned close to his ear and whispered "Naruto please calm down. I'm not going to hurt you." Slowly his struggling subsided and he looked up at me. In the dim light I was able to see his eyes were wide with fear.

"Dakota?" He asked softly.

"Yes Naruto It's me."

Burying his face in to my shoulder he said "Thank you…..thank you for finding me."

Hugging him tight I said "I'll always come after you Naruto." A few minutes latter I crawled out from the clump of trees with Skye holding on to me for dear life. Hinata hurried to help me to my feet.

"Dakota?" She asked. I shook my head meaning that I didn't know what had happened.

"That's Skye?" TenTen asked looking him over. All she was able to see was the back of him since his face was still buried in my shoulder.

Shino nodded saying "Yes that is Skye." Everyone who hadn't seen Naruto in this form yet looked him over closely. The only thing they could see that would tip them off that he was different was his tail.

"Er…..is that a tail?" Chouji asked.

"Yes it's a tail now please stop staring….you're only scaring him more." I said tightening my arms around him. Thankfully they stopped. Looking down at Sky I tried to see if he was injured but since I couldn't really see him I couldn't tell. "Listen Sky I have to put you down for a minute OK?"

"No please!"

"It's OK Sky. I just need to see if you're hurt." There was a minute of silence before he nodded. I knelt down and he climbed off of me backing away a few steps so I could see him clearly. Looking him over I was shocked to see that he was indeed hurt.

Sky's ears laid flat on his head and he had his tail wrapped around his waste. It was clear that he was still scared. On his forehead was a large gash that was covered with dried blood and dirt. There were several bruises on his face and even more on the rest of his body (That I was able to see with his clothes on.) as well as numerous scrapes and cuts.

"Oh Sky what happened?" I asked in a sad pain filled voice. He just looked away from me. "Alright……we'll talk latter. We better get you back home."

"OK." He murmured hurrying to cling on to me again.

"Is he hurt bad?" Sakura asked.

"Mmm….not as far as I can tell right now."

"That's good." She said. I nodded. It wasn't really the physical wounds I was worried about. What I was really worried about was the mental wounds he had received from what ever had happened.

"You better get him home Dakota. Would you like me to come?" Hinata asked.

I looked down at Sky then back at her. "No thank you Hinata. I think it would be best if he just went home and rested."

"Yes that would be good but please let us know if he's OK." TenTen said.

Nodding I said "I will and thank you all for helping me to find him." A minute latter I was hurrying through the trees back to the village. "Don't worry Sky we're almost there." I said holding him tightly against me.

At the house I found my mother sitting on the couch. She jumped to her feet the second she saw us. "Thank goodness you're both alright!"

Frowning slightly I said "I'm not sure if he's alright."

My mother looked him over. "You better get him cleaned up. That way we'll be able to see his injuries better."

I had to agree with her. So I took Sky up stairs in to the bathroom. "Lets get you cleaned up then I'll let you get some rest." I said as he looked up at me. It was clear that even though he was scared Sky was exhausted.

"OK." He murmured. Stripping him down to his boxers (Let's let him have at least a little privacy lol) I sat him in the tub of warm water.

"That OK?"

"Yeah." He just sat still as I gently washed his hair and body (Only the parts not covered by his boxers). He did flinch a little as the soap and wash cloth came in to contact with some of his injuries which was expected. After he was clean I pulled him out of the tub and wrapped a towel around him. It was only then I removed his boxers.

Back in our room I handed him some clean clothes and he slipped them on with a little trouble but he managed. Once he was dressed (In his boxers and pajama shorts only for the time being.) I sat him on the bed and gently brushed his hair and tail out.

Finally after all that was over I looked him over even more closely than I had in the tub. When he had been in the tub I was able to see the injuries but I had wanted to hurry and get him out so I didn't get a close look. Sky had several serious cuts and bruises but nothing that would require a trip to the hospital. Thankfully.

I gently applied disinfectant to the cuts and scrapes then put bandages on the more serious cuts which were on his forehead, chest, back, and arms. Once I finished he pulled on his pajama top and I pulled back the covers of the bed so he could lay down under them.

"Are you feeling any better?"

"A little." He murmured.

Smiling I said "That's great Naruto."

Rolling on to his side he scooted over to the side of the bed where I was sitting and snuggled up to me. "Don't leave me alone….please."

I studied him for a second. He looked so innocent and scared. Smiling once more I said "Scoot over so I can lay down." He moved over and after I laid down he snuggled back up to me. "Get some sleep Naruto."

"Thank you Dakota……" He murmured as his eyes slowly closed. I laid there and watched him sleep until a while latter I to drifted off to sleep.


	12. A NOTE FOR MY READERS

**_Hey everyone I just wanted to let you know that I went back through all the chappies of this story and corrected all of the mistakes. _**

**_I didn't realize there were so many. I apologize for that. _**

**_I also changed the layout so I hope it's easier to read. _**

**_I am working on the next chappie for Explosive Surprises but it's only about half way done so it'll be a little longer until it's posted. Sorry._**

**_Take care!!_**


	13. Found: What happened to you?

_**Authoress note:**_ Hey everyone! This would have been up sooner but there was a problem. I'd had this chappie half written but then it disappeared somewhere in my room so I had to completely rewrite it. Honestly though I think it turned out better than the original one. OK so now for the reviews! _Demon F0rce (Can I just call ya DF?):_ Well you are a loyal reviewer! And yes checking your mail when there's no reason to really does pay off lol. I'm glad you're liking this. _Devil-Speaker:_ Even though your review was for chappie three I'm gonna answer it here. I'm glad you think my story is cute. Thanks for reading it. Well that's all. Hope ya'll have a good Easter! (Watch out for the Easter bunny…..some people think he's dangerous --especially Leo lol--) R and R please!

* * *

Sighing I sat down at the table. Sky sat across from me. Ever since he woke up a few hours ago he'd avoided making any eye contact with me. 'Sky what on earth could of happened to you?' I wondered as I watched him pick at his breakfast. It didn't seem like he was hungry. There had to be something really wrong for him to lose his appetite. 

"Dakota?"

"Yes?"

"Were you upset when I was gone?"

What kind of question was that? "Of course I was upset Sky. I was worried every second you were gone."

"Oh."

"I already told you before I'll always care about you."

"Why?"

"Huh?"

"Why do you care Dakota?"

"Naruto what's going on? Why are you asking me this?"

"Please Dakota just tell me why."

"You're part of my family. That's what families do. We worry, care, and love each other."

"Family?"

"Yes family Naruto."

Setting his fork down Naruto slipped from his chair and walked form the room.

"Naruto where are you going?"

"No where."

Jumping to my feet I hurried after him. Grabbing him from behind I held him tightly against me. "Naruto please tell me what's going on!"

"Let me go!" He struggled to get away but I refused to let him go.

"Naruto please I'm worried about you."

"I said let go!" Then he did something I never would have expected. Opening his mouth he bit down as hard as he could on my arm.

"Ah no!" My grip only tightened around him causing him to struggle even more. Biting down again he began to claw at my arms. "Please Naruto stop!" I cried but it was no use. He just kept biting and clawing me until I had to let him go. Landing on his feet Naruto ran off and up the stairs. I just stood there to shocked to do anything but stand there and watch him. Why had he attacked me like that? I just didn't understand.

Pulling myself together I looked down at my arms and winced. They looked bad. Sighing I made my way back to the kitchen where there was a first aid kit. Just as I finished bandaging my right arm the back door opened and my mother walked in.

"Oh good you're here Dakota. Can you please help me with these bags?" After taking a closer look at me her eyes widened and the bags of groceries she had been holding crashed to the floor. "Dakota what happened?!"

"It's OK mom it's not as bad as it looks."

"Not that bad? Dakota your arm is a bloody mess and your other arm is covered in bandages." I didn't say anything. Sighing she moved over to me and proceeded to clean and bandage my left arm.

"Thanks." I murmured after she finished.

"You're welcome. How's Skye doing?"

"He's doing OK." I lied.

"That's good. Has he said anything about what happened?"

My mind flashed back to the conversation I'd had with him not to long ago. Shaking my head I said "Nothing yet."

"That poor little boy. It must have been awful."

"No doubt about that."

A while latter I went upstairs to talk to Sky. He was laying on the bed facing the wall. As I entered the room his ear twitched and he shifted slightly. Closing the door behind me I took a few steps closer to the bed. "I don't blame you Naruto. I blame who ever did this to you. I want you to know that no matter what you can talk to me. I'll always be here to listen." There was no response from Sky. I left after saying one last thing. "Don't forget that I love you." Closing the door behind me I stood there staring at the floor. 'Why? Why?…..Why?!' With a pain filled cry I ran down the stairs and out the front door.

"Dakota? Dakota what's going on?" My mother asked hearing my cry. She arrived in time to see me run out the door.

------

I ran down countless streets not knowing where I was going. I was just running. Running like my life depended on it. Hours latter I sat at the memorial stone in the pouring rain (It was supposed to rain that day…..and so it was lol.) I was there because I wasn't able to move another step. The rain was cold and I was shaking violently. Unable to move I sat there with my eyes closed and tears running down my face combing with the rain.

"Hey you alright?"

Looking up I saw a man standing next to me. It took me a few seconds to recognize who it was. "Kumori." My older brother.

Kneeling down next to me he frowned. "What's the matter little sister?"

"I don't know what to do Kumori."

"About?"

"Skye. He's hurting. A lot and he wont let me in."

"Ah I see."

"I want to help him but I can't if he wont let me in."

"Well…..you getting sick wont help anyone so lets get you outta this rain eh?"

"K."

An hour latter I was sitting on Kumori's couch with a cup of hot tea. His apartment was small but it was warm and dry.

"Better?" Kumori asked sitting down next to me. I was wearing some of his clothes since mine were soaked through. He'd even had to change the bandages on my arms.

"I guess." I murmured sipping my tea.

"Good now start from the top."

"Did mom tell you what happened to Skye?"

"Yeah he disappeared then showed up in the forest the next day."

"It was yesterday. He was injured. I took him home, cleaned him up and he went to sleep. This morning I tried to talk to him but he wouldn't say anything."

"Nothing?"

"Nothing….well except he wanted to know why I cared."

"Mmm…..he's young but I bet he's had a hard life right?"

"Yeah."

"No one there for him?"

"No not really."

"That's why he was asking. Poor kid."

"Yeah….."

"Is he the one who hurt you?" I looked away. "Don't worry I'm not mad at him. I understand. He was already 'messed up' before this then the disappearing thing happened."

"I told him that. That I didn't blame him."

"That's good. It may take a while for it to sink in though. He's upset and probably blames himself and thinks you blame him to. It's important for you to tell him you don't."

"OK I will."

"Good. Now all you need to do is be patient. He trusts you right?"

"Mhm."

"Well then in time he will come to you and talk. Just don't push it."

"Thanks Kumori."

"No problem. That's what big brothers are for."

Grinning I said "That and chasing away potential boyfriends."

"Damn straight!" He said grinning as well. Kumori has always been a great brother. Always willing to help and give advice if asked and sometimes even when he's asked not to.


	14. A little background info

**_Authoress Note:_** Hey everyone I'm back! No I didn't die or drop off the face of the planet lol. I've just had writers block and lost my motivation to write **ANYTHING** for a long time. Sorry about that. I did my best with this though it's not very long. It's not very interesting but it does give some info about Dakota's past. Anyways on to reviews! _**Konoka:**_ I'm so glad you think this story rocks!!! I'm also glad that it's easier to read now. Sorry it took so long for me to do that...I do listen to you guys when you point stuff out it's just...it takes some time for me to go back and fix it. **_Betsuni Alchemist:_** Eh when I first saw this name I was like 'who the heck is that?' then I looked at your profile and found out it's you _**DF**_!!!! lol I know I'm weird. Anyways yes that's what it's like to have an older sibling. I myself am the youngest of four girls. Believe me I felt the way you feel about gouging out your siblings eyes lol. Though things get better once you're older and don't live under the same roof. My sister whose closest in age to me and I used to fight every day (and I _really_ mean everyday) but then she moved out and things are a heck of a lot better lol. OK well now that's all for now. Sorry it's so late and so short. Enjoy and R and R please!!!!

* * *

Kumori looked down at his little sister as she slept soundly on the couch. She'd decided to wait out the storm at his apartment instead of heading home in the rain. He was so glad that she had finally returned to the village. Three years had passed since the day that Dakota had left the village to train. Needless to say their parents had been shocked and immediately told her she couldn't go when she'd told them what she wanted to do. It had taken a lot of persuasion but they finally allowed it. She was very happy to go. Kumori knew for a fact that his little sister felt that her ninja skills were very bad.

When she was in the academy she was an average student then when she graduated and was placed on a team she really felt bad about her skills. Dakota had felt that she was holding her teammates back and that she caused them nothing but trouble. She would sneak out at night to go and train. Kumori had often been sent to retrieve her when their mother discovered she wasn't in her bed. She was usually passed out cold in a training ground when he found her. For months she kept pushing herself harder and harder until one day she seriously hurt herself. They had been worried that she had done irreversible damage to her right arm when a jutsu she had been doing went horribly wrong. Thankfully though she recovered fully.

Sitting down on the small couch that was opposite of the larger one Dakota was sleeping on Kumori sighed. Everyday that she had been gone their mother had done nothing but worry. Sure Dakota wrote letters home every once in a while but it didn't really do anything to sooth her nerves. Their father, Kiyoshi, and Kumori himself had did their best to remind Tara that Dakota was fully capable of taking care of herself.

Then when Dakota showed up a few days ago their mother had instantly reverted to her normal self. Fussing over her so much that it drove the poor girl nuts. The fact that Dakota had showed up with that little fox boy Skye was a big surprise. An even bigger one of her just showing up out of the blue. Honestly Kumori felt there was more to the story that Dakota had told him about the boy. He couldn't place his finger on it but something was off. Not in a dangerous way though. If it had been in a dangerous way he would be keeping a much closer eye on his little sister and Skye.

Hearing the door to his apartment open Kumori looked to the right and saw his twin sister in the entrance way. "Hey Kiyoshi."

"Hey Kumori." She said slipping her shoes off. Walking farther in to the apartment she spotted Dakota. "What's up?"

"Ah well there was an….incident with Skye."

"Oh?" Looking her sister over Kiyoshi spotted the bandages on her arms. Frowning she asked "What happened?"

"Apparently something pretty bad happened to Skye while he was missing. Dakota tried talking to him about it but he turned to leave. She grabbed a hold of him and he fought to get free."

"Fought?"

"Mhm. He bit and clawed her arms up pretty good." Seeing the look on his twins face he said "Don't blame the kid Kiyoshi. It's easy to tell he's had it ruff. He's been on his own and treated pretty badly until Dakota found him."

Sighing Kiyoshi sat down next to him. "Yeah you're right. I've spent some time with him and he seems kinda….I dunno what it is but it's…."

Seeing that she was having trouble finding the correct words to describe Skye he said "I know what you mean."

The twins sat in silence for a few minutes. The only sound was Dakota's slow breathing and the distant sound of rain. Looking to Kumori she suddenly said "You know Kota's changed a lot."

"Well duh Kiyoshi! She's been gone for three years."

Rolling her eyes she said "You don't have to say it like that. I meant her attitude and personality. She's more mature now."

"She's been traveling on her own. That is until she met Skye."

"Mm…" Once more they sat in silence until a sudden sly look crossed Kiyoshi's face. "Say Kumori you don't think….."

"Think what?" He asked confused.

"You don't think that Dakota found a…a 'friend' while she was away do you?"

"What?!" Kumori yelped jumping to his feet. "No way! There's no way she'd have done that!"

Chuckling she said "Calm down Kumori I was just kidding sheesh talk about over protective…"

Scowling he sat back down mumbling something about 'evil twin sisters'.

"Man I'd hate to see how you'd react when she gets a boyfriend." Her twin shot her a positively furious look. "You know you can't stop her from dating Kumori."

"That's what you think."

'Oh boy….I feel sorry for Dakota. More so for the guy she'd be going out with.' Kiyoshi thought shaking her head sadly. on you two not so loud….."

Turning to look at the other couch the twins saw Dakota was awake. She shot them a frown before pulling the blanket Kumori had given her over her head.

"Good afternoon little sister!" Kiyoshi said happily.

Groaning once more Dakota said "Leave me alone….."

"No can do little sis I was sent here on a mission." Peeking out from under the blanket Dakota shot her a confused look. "Mom wants you home. She said you ran out of the house without a word and she's really worried about you."

"Don't want to go." She grumbled as she rolled over and buried her face in the cushion.

"I know sis but it's better to face her now than latter."

'Damn it she's right.' Dakota thought irritably. The last thing she wanted at the moment was to have to talk with her mother. Putting it off would only make things worse. Sighing she sat up.

"So I take it you're going home?" Kumori asked.

"Yeah."

"Well then I'll get you your clothes. They should be dry by now." He left and came back a minute latter carrying her clothes. "Go on and get dressed."

Grumbling to herself Dakota got off the couch and headed for the bathroom. All she wanted to do was go back to sleep and not wake up for days.


	15. The truth of what happened

**_Authoress Note:_** Hey everyone! I decided I'd be nice and upload this now. My nice mood is gonna be gone in an hour or so...I gotta go to math class. Basically I _HATE_ math. Anyways on to the reviews! **DF:** lol I know I'm the same way when my alram clock goes off. I'm like "NOOOOO!!!!!!" lol well that's all. Enjoy and R and R please!!!

* * *

Rolling over I looked out the window and saw it was still raining. It had started an hour or so ago and has only started falling harder. I hate the rain. Sitting up I cocked my head to the side. My hearing was still really good but with the rain interfering it was hard to tell who was in the house. Was Dakota still here? 

'Ah….don't think about her.' I thought miserably.

Even though she had said she didn't blame me for clawing and biting her arms up I still blamed myself. I hadn't wanted to hurt her but she wouldn't let me go! Then instinct kicked in. I know I hurt her pretty badly even if I didn't actually see the wounds.

'Oh well what else could I expect? This is how my life has been and always will be.' I thought miserably.

Somehow I always seem to push people away often without realizing it. I guess it's just a habit I've picked up over the years to try and protect myself. Basically I'm the one who keeps screwing my life up. I chased Dakota away. She was the only one who really seemed to care about me. Well besides Iruka-sensei that is.

Laying back down I closed my eyes. I wanted to forget everything. Everything that had happened since I had snuck out of the bedroom window. I know, I know it was a stupid thing to do but I had a reason. When I had gotten upstairs I realized that something that was really important to me was gone. I _had_ to go and find it no matter what.

**FLASH BACK BEGINS**

"Damn it! Where could it be?" I murmured as I looked around the room.

I can't believe I was so careless! What if I never find it? In that case I'd feel like crap for the rest of my life. I can't believe I had been stupid enough to loose it.

"Wait….what if I lost it outside?"

Aw man if I lost it outside I'd most likely never find it. Cursing I went to the bedroom door and opened it. The sound of Dakota and Tara cooking and talking in the kitchen reached my ears. Stopping right before I walked out the door a thought occurred to me. There was no way Dakota would let me go out by myself and there was no way that I wanted her to come with me to look. In that case there was only one thing I could do.

Closing the door I went to the bed room window and opened it. Looking out I saw the tree that was next to the house was close enough for me to use to climb out.

'Perfect!' I thought as I climbed out the window and in to the tree.

-----

"Damn!" I exclaimed. I'd been all over the village…er I mean where I'd been that day and hadn't found it.

I was really getting frustrated now. Why did I have to loose it? Well that was obvious wasn't it? I apparently wasn't aloud to have things that were important to me. Damn I should of known that it wouldn't be safe with me.

"What am I going to do now?" I asked sighing.

"How about come with me nice and quietly."

Whirling around I saw a man standing behind me. 'Shit!' I thought looking around. There was no one else there. "Who are you?" I asked backing away from the man.

"Ah now little demon that doesn't really matter does it?"

Seconds after he had spoken pain shot through my head. He had hit me with something. With a small groan I fell to the ground. The next thing I know is I am waking up in a clearing of some type. 'Must be a training ground.' I thought trying to sit up.

"Well, well the little demons awake."

Turning I saw the man from before but he wasn't alone. There were two others with him. 'Shit what am I going to do?' What could I do? I was a chibi for crying out loud!

"Alright lets get this over with." One of the other men said.

The men moved so they were surrounding me. I looked up at them with wide eyes.

"Hehe look at him he's to scared to do anything." Said the third man.

Then it started. Blow after blow rained down on me. I rolled myself in to a ball to try and protect myself. It didn't work. Two of the men grabbed me and pulled my arm and legs so I was no longer curled up. "S-stop please!" I cried out.

"No can do."

A foot slammed in to my side and I screamed out in pain. Tears that I had been holding back fell down my face. "Stop please!" but it was no use.

"Aw look the little demon is crying!" All three of the men then laughed.

I'm not sure really how long it lasted. All I do know is that I passed out again. When I woke up I was alone. Moving slightly I gasped as pain raced through my body. I had to get away…..what if they came back? Trying my best to ignore the pain I rolled over on to my stomach and looked around. I saw nothing but trees.

There was no way I'd be able to make it back to the village. Summoning up all the strength I could I began to drag myself towards a clump of trees. It seemed to take for ever and when I finally felt I was far enough in I laid my head down and didn't move.

**END FLASH BACK**

That's where Dakota found me. Laying there in that clump of trees. Kyuubi had healed me somewhat by then but I was still pretty beat up. In a way I was so happy to see her but in another I wasn't. I didn't want her to see me like this. So weak and helpless. It was humiliating.

Suddenly the sound of the bedroom door opening reached my ears. Opening my eyes I saw Dakota standing in the door way. I looked over the bandages on her arms and a pang of guilt shot through me. Rolling over so my back faced her I prayed that she'd just leave me alone.


	16. Unexpected event

**_Authoress Note:_** Hey everyone I'm back! Sorry it took so long to update. Now for reviews! _**DF:**_ Thanks and I'm glad you liked the chappie. Well everyone that's all. Enjoy and R and R please!!!

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Two days have passed since I had tried to get Naruto to tell me what had happened. I was wandering around the village not doing much of anything. As I passed two nins I couldn't help but over hear their conversation. For some reason I felt compelled to listen in. Normally I don't eaves drop but I felt I should this time. Moving to a nearby booth I pretended to look at the merchandise while I listened to what they were saying.

"The Hokage's really starting to worry."

"So he hasn't checked in at all?"

"No and it's been weeks now since he left for the mission."

"Do you think something happened to him?"

"Who knows? For all anyone knows Uzumaki Naruto could be laying dead in a ditch."

Oh boy this wasn't good. Neither Naruto nor I had thought of what would happen when he didn't return to the village. What if they thought he went rouge? This wasn't good at all.

Turning I hurried home. I had to do something or else Naruto's life could be really screwed up. I know what you're thinking 'his life's already screwed up. He's a chibi whose part fox'. You're right about that but if Naruto ever returns to normal he may not have a life to return to. Especially if they think he went rouge. That would mean death. The last thing I wanted was for Naruto to be killed.

"Sky!" I called as I hurried in to my bed room. He didn't even look at me. "Sky this is really important." I made sure to shut the bedroom door before I continued. "It's about you're…..normal self."

That got his attention. Sitting up he looked to me saying "What do you mean?"

"I overheard a couple of nins talking in the village. They were talking about you and how the Hokage was really worried because you haven't come back or checked in."

"This isn't good." Sky said frowning.

"I know. We need to think of something or else everyone will think you went rouge or something." I said moving to sit down on the bed.

"But what can we do?"

That was what I was trying to figure out! Man why couldn't I think of anything?!

After several minutes Sky said "There's only one thing we can do."

"What?"

"Tell the Hokage the truth."

"What?!" I cried in shock. Was he crazy?

"It's the only thing we can do Dakota." Sky said in a firm voice.

Oh hell who was I trying to kid? He was right. There was nothing else we could do except to tell the Hokage the truth. After all there was no way we'd be able to pull off a lie.

----------

A couple of hours later found the two of us waiting to see the Hokage. Naturally I was nervous as heck. Would she believe us? What would she do once she found out the truth? My head was starting to pound…..

"You two can go in now."

I nodded to the secretary as I passed her desk to go through the big wooden doors that led to the Hokage's office. Shutting the door I looked to the desk where the Hokage sat. She was surrounded by a ton of papers. Yikes.

Sky stood nervously next to me. 'Oh I hope she's in a good mood.' He thought.

"What can I do for you Dakota?" Tsunade asked as she looked the girl over. There was no mistaking that she was a Kano. Not with those eyes.

"Ah…well I'm sorry to disturb you like this Hokage-sama but it's in regards to Uzumaki Naruto." I said nervously.

"What?" She said instantly more alert. "What about Naruto?"

"Well it's just that…..you don't need to worry about him."

"And why not?" Tsunade asked as her eyes narrowed.

"Because he's not missing."

"Explain."

'Shoot Naruto was right! She's very protective of him.' I thought. Looking down to Sky I nodded. "He's been back in the village for several days now."

"If he's been back the why hasn't he checked in?"

"Because-" I began before Sky cut me off.

"Because I didn't want anyone to see me like this."

Tsunade looked to the little chibi at my side and her eyes widened. "N-naruto?"

"Yes."

"What happened?" She asked jumping to her feet and hurrying towards us.

"I'm not really sure. I was on my way home when I was ambushed. There was a big explosion and the next thing I know I'm waking up in Dakota's camp as a fox."

"A fox?"

"Yes. At first he looked like any ordinary fox then one day he turned in to this." I explained.

"Why….why didn't you tell me?"

"I didn't want anyone to know it was me." Naruto said looking at the floor.

Tsunade was silent for a minute before saying "I understand." Looking to me she said "You've been taking care of him?"

"Yes. Everyone thinks I found him in a village far away from here and that his name is Skye. I…..I couldn't just leave him behind and I was planning on coming back home anyways so I just kept him with me."

A small smile crossed Tsunade's face as she said "I see."

Looking back to Naruto she said "Alright lets get a complete check up of you and go from there."

"Do I have to have a check up?" He asked with a scowl.

"Yes." She said in a firm voice. Then turning to me once more she said in a dismissive voice "Thank you for taking care of him."

"It was no problem." Did she want me to leave? Looking to Naruto I saw he was looking up at her. Apparently she did. 'If that's what she wants.' I thought turning and silently leaving the room. Why did it feel like my heart was being crushed?

----------

"Hello Dakota." Tara said happily as she saw her daughter walk through the door. It took a few seconds for her to realize Skye wasn't with her. "Dakota where's Skye?" She saw a look pass over the girls face that lasted only a second before she answered.

"He's with the Hokage." I said softly.

"What on earth for?" She asked with a frown.

"They…..they have a few things they need to discuss."

"Without you?"

There was that feeling of my heart being crushed again. "Yeah. I'll be in my room." I murmured before hurrying towards the stairs.


	17. At the Hokage tower

**_Authoress Note:_** Hey everyone! First off I wanna let you know that this chappie isn't very long. I'm sorry about that but I'm trying my best. Second is that the normal lines I use to break up scenes aren't showing up. I had to make do with this _(CHANGE SCENE ((Sorry but the normal dividers I use wont show up!)))_. Sigh Sorry everyone. Now for reviews! **_DF:_** Don't worry about Dakota. She'll be okay...or will she?? lol and don't worry 'cause I'm still working on this just like all of my other stories. Well...except The Evil Plots Of The Cosmos And Overly Cute Kitties but that's because my cowriter is having comp. problems. Well enjoy and R and R please!

* * *

Tsunade was just about ready to slam her head against a wall. After performing every test she could think of on Naruto she still had no idea what was going on. There were so many questions but no answers.

How was it that this happened?

Why did it happen?

Why a fox?

Was it because of the Kyuubi?

Would he be like this forever or would he keep slowly changing until he was fully human once more?

All of these questions were swirling around and around in her mind nonstop. Kami she needed some sake!

As she looked to the monument from the top of the Hokage tower she hoped against hope that she would be able to help the boy who was like a son to her.

**(CHANGE SCENE ((Sorry but the normal dividers I use wont show up!)))**

The only sound in the room was his harsh breathing as he hid under the bed. Clasping his hand over his mouth the little boy tried to stifle the sound. The last thing he needed was for them to find him. If he was found it would be very bad.

'Please don't let them find me!' He thought as he squeezed his eyes tightly shut.

Now the footsteps were in the hallway. Step after step brought the person closer and closer to the little boy. He was shaking in fear by this point. There was no where he could go and nothing he could do.

He had been minding his own business in his apartment when suddenly the front door was kicked open. Hearing this from the hall way the little boy hurried to hide in his room. He just didn't understand why people kept breaking in to his apartment or why they wanted to hurt him.

Who ever it was they were now in his room. The little boy froze and literally stopped breathing. Maybe if he was still enough and quiet enough they wouldn't find him.

'Please, oh please don't let them find me!!'

"Neh I guess he's not here." A slightly slurred male voice said.

"To bad I really wanted to beat the crap out of the little demon." Said another slurred male voice.

Obviously the two men were drunk. They moved out of his room and seconds later the little boy heard loud crashes and the sound of breaking glass. The men must be destroying his apartment. That would make it a total of four times it's happened this month.

The apartment had been silent for several minutes now so the boy thought it safe to come out. Slowly he crept out of his room and down the hallway. It only took a minute to determine that the men were indeed gone. In their wake they left his apartment in ruins.

"Oh well at least they didn't find me this time." He murmured as he began to clean up the mess.

Spotting a small pile of paper on the floor near his kitchen he went to see what it was. At first he didn't recognize it but when he did his big blue eyes filled with tears. What had once been a birthday card from Iruka-sensei was now nothing more than a pile of confetti.

The little boy sobbed as he carefully scooped up the remains of his only birthday card. Out of everything else in his entire apartment that had been destroyed this one hurt the most. Iruka had been the only one who cared enough about him to give him something for his birthday. Luckily though they hadn't found the stuffed bear that had come with the card. During the night it had fallen to the floor and was pushed under the bed as he hurried to hide from the men.

Clutching the shredded card to his chest the little boy continued to cry.

"H-happy birthday….to m-me….."

**(CHANGE SCENE ((Sorry but the normal dividers I use wont show up!)))**

Naruto sat bolt up right heart pounding. The last four words from his dream still echoing through his mind. Looking around he at first didn't recognize where he was. Then he remembered he'd fallen asleep on the couch in Tsunade's office. The woman was currently no where to be seen but this didn't worry Naruto. It meant he could have some more time before she tried another exam on him.

"What the heck was up with that dream…." He muttered softly. It had been months since the last time he had dreamt of his childhood. Why after all this time did it start up again? Shaking his head he laid back down on the couch. 'Just forget about it.' He thought as he closed his eyes. However that was easier said than done.


	18. Restless nights

**Authoress Note:** Hey everyone here's the next chappie._** DF:**_ It's okay. At least you read it and sent me a review :). Enjoy and R and R please!!

* * *

That night Dakota couldn't sleep. She laid awake in bed staring up at the ceiling. It was strange really. Why couldn't she sleep? Oh who was she trying to kid?! The reason she couldn't sleep is because Naruto hadn't come back to her house. The last time she had seen him was earlier that day at the Hokage's tower.

Was he okay?

He was with the Hokage so he should be.

Has the Hokage found a way to return him to normal?

For some reason that question made Dakota feel odd.

Why did this make her feel odd? It wasn't that she wanted Naruto to stay a chibi half human half fox for the rest of his life. It was just….just….oh heck she doesn't know! That fact was driving her nuts.

With a frustrated sigh Dakota slipped out of bed and went to look out her window. It was a beautiful night. The moon was almost full and millions of stars could be seen. She loved nights like this but at the moment it didn't seem to be doing any good.

"What's wrong with me?" She asked herself out loud.

Sure over the weeks since they had met they became friends. True she made a promise to herself to help Naruto however she could. They were friends. Just friends and nothing more.

Feeling restless she decided to go for a walk. She dressed quickly then slipped silently out her window. If she'd gone out the front door her parents would have heard. They wouldn't be to happy she was sneaking out. The neighborhood was quiet. Not surprising since it was two thirty in the morning. The only people who were still awake were either working (Usually guarding the village), getting drunk (Along with other adult activities), and crazy people.

Which category did she fall under?

She wasn't working.

She certainly wasn't doing any adult activities.

So did this mean she was crazy?

Who knew maybe she was. After all not many sane people wander the streets at two thirty in the morning.

It took Dakota a little while to realize that her wandering had led her to the Hokage monument. 'Why'd I come here?' She wondered.

After studying the faces of the Hokage's (The best she could in the dark) she climbed to the top and sat on the fourth Hokage's head. Feet dangling over the edge she looked out over the village. It was a beautiful sight. As she continued to look over the village a thought struck her.

"Things in life are never easy….everything's constantly changing. People come and people go. The ones we love are the hardest to let go-" Suddenly sensing someone behind her Dakota turned and saw an ANBU. 'Shit.'

"You shouldn't be out here at this time of night." The ANBU said as he crossed his arms over his stomach (Still able to easily reach a weapon if need be).

"Yeah I know. Sorry ANBU-san." She said climbing to her feet.

"Why are you out here?"

Dakota had been looking over the village once more as he spoke so it took her a few seconds to answer. "Hm? Oh I couldn't sleep so I came out for a walk. I guess I should be getting back home now."

The ANBU studied her silently for several seconds before nodding his head.

Dakota walked off knowing that he was still watching her. She couldn't blame him though. After all it's not normal for someone her age to be out so late.

--

The next day Dakota met up with Kiyoshi at the training grounds. She hadn't gotten any sleep after she had returned home so she was naturally pretty tiered. Kiyoshi easily noticed something was wrong. Especially when Dakota was unable to block a punch she normally would have with ease.

"Hey Dakota what's up?"

"Nothing." She said rubbing her cheek where the punch had landed.

"Come on Dakota you know I know you better than that."

She was silent for several seconds before saying "It's nothing."

Frowning Kiyoshi said "Is this about Skye? He hasn't been around since yesterday."

"You noticed?"

"Of course. You two were practically attatched at the hip."

"I guess."

"Do you want to talk about it?"

Could she talk to Kiyoshi about it? Should she? After all she had promised Naruto that she wouldn't tell anyone but…..she really needed to talk to someone.

"Alright but not here."

--

"Wow…." Kiyoshi said in amazement. "No wonder you've been off today."

The two sisters were sitting in Dakota's room and she had just gotten through telling her sister who Skye really was.

"I don't understand it though." Dakota said with a frown.

"What's not to understand? You've spent damn near 24/7 with him since you found him. The two of you got close, which is natural, and now he's gone."

"Close?"

Seeing how uncomfortable her little sister looked Kiyoshi said "Close has different levels to it Dakota. There's close like family, close like friends, and close as two people attracted to each other."

"The question though is what level are we at? Not to mention are we both on the same level."

"That lil sis is something you have to figure out on your own."


	19. Escape from the tower

**_Authoress Note:_** Hey everyone I'm back! Sorry it's been so long. My excuse? Life. I know the past few chappies haven't been very good and I'm sorry about that. This one doesn't seem to be much beeter but it is longer. I'm doing my best everyone and that's all I can do for now. Now for reviews! **_DF:_** Thanks for reviewing! Well everyone As usual please R and R! Enjoy!

* * *

It's been two days since Naruto had gone to the Hokage and told her what had happened. In those two days he had been poked and prodded so many times that he had lost count. Now he was starting to feel restless. Not once since he had arrived has he stepped foot out of the tower. Tsuunade had said it was safer for him to stay in her office but that wasn't true. After all he had spent all that time with Dakota and nothing bad had happened. Well….except when he had run off but that had been his own fault. He'd known it was a stupid idea but he had done it anyways.

Speaking of Dakota…..he hadn't seen her in two days. Where was she and why hadn't she come to see him? Naruto was starting to feel lonely locked away in Tsunade's office. At the moment he was alone and pacing the room. He hated being locked up like this!

'Ah I can't take much more of this!' He thought shaking his head. Some way some how he had to get out of there.

Walking over to the door he opened it a crack and peered out. The only people around were the guards. How was he going to get past them? Frowning he began to formulate a plan in his mind.

'Perfect.' He thought with a smirk several minutes later.

Closing the door once more he went to Tsunade's desk and picked up a heavy paper weight.

'I hope she wont be to mad at me for doing this.'

Then he threw the paper weight at one of the big windows. It didn't go through but it cracked it and made a very loud noise. Quickly jumping behind a potted plant that just so happened to be sitting right next to the door he waited. Sure enough not a second later the doors flew open and the guards ran in to see what had happened.

With their backs to him Naruto was able to easily slip out of the room and down the stairs. Peering out of the stair well he saw many nins going about their business as usual.

'Okay so now comes the hard part…' He thought ears flattening themselves against his head. 'Oh well it's now or never.'

With that thought he tucked his tail around his waist (To try not to draw to much attention to himself) and bolted for the doors. There were several shouts as he shot past people and even slammed in to a woman with her arms full of files. The files flew up in the air and created enough of a distraction for Naruto to slip away unnoticed.

"Wow lucks on my side today." He murmured with a grin as he darted outside and down the street.

Once he felt he was a safe distance away he stopped running and took a look around his surroundings. He was standing in the middle of Konoha's shopping district.

"Where should I go now?" He asked himself as he looked around at the many shops and stands.

He could go back to Dakota's house but that would be the first place Tsunade would probably look. So for a while at least he should find somewhere else to go. The question was where. Sighing he set off down the street with no particular destination in mind.

Everything was going fine until suddenly a sharp pain shot through his head. Gasping he stumbled but managed to keep from falling.

'W-what the hell was that?' He wondered as he shook his head.

Seconds later it happened again. Stumbling once more he bumped in to a wall as he clutched his head. It hurt so much! Gasping he tried to keep going but his legs gave out on him. This was not good. He could not be found like this. Odds were who ever found him would try and kill him. Rolling on to his side he saw an alley a few feet away.

'That…should be safer.' Naruto thought trying to climb to his feet. All he could manage though was to get to his hands and knees so he crawled the few feet to the alley.

Once inside he collapsed on to the filthy ground trying his best to stay conscious but in the end he lost that battle.

--

When Naruto woke up he was shocked to see he was in the seal.

"Wha…how'd I end up here?"

"Well I see your finally awake."

Turning he looked at the giant bars of the cage that confined Kyuubi and saw not a giant terrifying fox but a fox the size of a large dog. She had started shrinking herself down once Naruto had started to go in to the seal more often.

When he asked her why she had said it was to make him feel more comfortable. Odd coming from a giant blood thirsty demon huh? Well that's what he had thought until he had gotten to know her. Now Kyuubi and he were really close and she tended to treat him like her kit. Go figure.

"Kyuubi? What happened?"

"Isn't it obvious kit? You passed out."

"I know that! What I don't know is why." Naruto said climbing shakily to his feet.

"Do you not remember the last time this happened?" Kyuubi asked sitting down on her haunches. Seeing him shake his head she continued "Of course the last time it happened under a little different circumstances. You were sick kit with a very high fever. You were out of it for a while."

"That's when I woke up and was human again." Naruto said with a frown.

"Not quite human kit." She reminded him.

"Right. So does this mean I'm changing again?"

"That I do not know. What I do know is that it seems to be safer and easier on you if I bring you here in to the seal with me."

"You mean you brought me here the last time?"

"Yes though not a first. When I saw how bad you were getting I decided it may be safer to bring you here. In the end I'm glad I did because you seemed to do better once I brought you here."

"This is just so weird! Why is this happening to me?" Naruto asked in a miserable voice.

"Oh kit I wish I knew. I've tried to return you to your normal body but nothing worked. It seems as if you're just going to have to wait it out."

"Kyuubi?"

"Yes?"

"Why didn't you contact me before?" He asked sounding a little hurt.

"I tried kit. Over and over again but for some reason I couldn't. Not until you became ill and I brought you here. Then when you became better I tried to contact you again but once more I was blocked."

"Now that's really weird."

"I have to agree with you on that."

"Now what? Will I be able to talk with you once I wake up?"

"I'm afraid I don't know that either kit. Just know that I'll keep trying no matter what."

A small smile crossed his face for the first time since he entered the seal. "Thanks Kyuu you're the best."

"Alright now kit why don't you get some rest. You're going to need it." She said moving a few tails so they were sticking out through the bars.

"Okay." He murmured as he finally felt exhaustion he had been doing his best to ignore.

Moving to the bars Naruto sat down and leaned back against Kyuubi's tails. They gently wrapped around him as he closed his eyes.

"Sleep well my kit." Kyuubi said softly.


	20. Thoughts

**_Authoress Note:_** Hey everyone how's it goin? Sorry it's been so long but believe it or not I am **STILL** suffering from writers block. I think I did okay on this but I'm not sure. It's not very long sorry. **_XxSilentLegendxX:_** Yes Naruto will eventually turn back to normal. Sorry it took so long to update again. Okay everyone enjoy and please R and R.

* * *

Have you ever felt that you don't belong and that no one wanted you around? Well that's how I've felt my whole life.

People hated me and I didn't understand why. If I turned to them for comfort or help they would either ignore me or call me horrible things and beat me up. As I grew older I no longer went to people in hopes that they would leave me alone. Unfortunately that didn't work.

I learned that in order for me to survive I had to fend for myself. Not an easy thing for a five year old to do. Somehow I managed it though.

Now here I am years later inside the seal of the Kyuubi. Who was the reason why my life had been nothing but hell. At first I was very angry with her. After all she was the reason why I was beaten every day. Then as time went by I started to get to know her.

I learned that Kyuubi is not the monster demon everyone thinks she is. Sure she is a giant fox with nine tails and very sharp teeth but that doesn't make her evil or a monster. The only reason she had attacked Konoha was because someone had killed her mate and she followed the mans trail back to Konoha. Once there though she lost control and well…..you all know what she did.

Kyuubi is in fact a very kind and loving being. Over the years she has had to watch me suffer and that hurt her a lot. Now that I am able to enter the seal she treats me as if I were her kit. It's strange really. I've never had a mother before and now I have one sealed inside of me and I like it. A lot.

Now that I am older and know of the Kyuubi I've managed to make some friends. They are all kind and treat me well. However they know nothing of Kyuubi and I try my very best to keep it that way.

Dakota Kano is a very different person than I am used to. When I was in full fox form she treated me like family. Not many people do that with animals. Then I turned in to this half human and half fox chibi. When she found out who I really was Dakota didn't care. In fact she still treats me as family.

How did I repay her for this?

First I lost the necklace with her clan symbol on it that she had given me and then I hurt her by biting and clawing her arms up.

I'm awful.

--------------

My poor kit has been through so much in his short life. All of it because of me. I wish with all of my heart that I could change what happened but I can't. So I do what I can by watching over him and making sure he is happy, safe, and loved. Even if I am the only one who loves him.

When the explosion happened and I could no longer reach Naruto I panicked. I tried everything I could think of to reach him but nothing worked. Then he became ill. I had no choice but to sit back and watch helplessly as he fought this strange illness. However it was when he was at his worst that I discovered I was once more connected to him.

I brought Naruto in to the seal with me and cared for him the best I could. When he recovered I sent him back not knowing that when I did I would once again loose our connection.

During that time I observed his interaction with Dakota. He was right in thinking that this girl was different. She is caring and very protective of Naruto which is exactly what he needs at the moment.

I can't help but thank Kami that it was Dakota who had found him in the forest. If it had been anyone else they would have most likely killed Naruto for his unusual pelt.

At times I can't help but think that Dakota was meant to find him.

Now once again Naruto is sick and once again I have reestablished our connection. I brought him in to the seal to care for him as I had before.

I just don't understand it. What could it be that is blocking the connection between Naruto and I?

The seal?

No it couldn't be. I know that darned seal inside and out. It is incapable of blocking our connection. Naruto himself is the only thing that can and he wouldn't do that. At least not willingly.

Looking down at Naruto sleeping peacefully wrapped in my tails I can't help but smile. He is such a wonderful boy and I can see so much potential in him. All he has to do is work hard and he will be able to do anything that he wants.

Somehow I will figure this out.


	21. Missing: Again?

**Authoress Note:**Hey everyone guess what? I'M ALIVE!!!!! *cough* erm sorry lol. OK I know it's been like almost a year since I've updated and I wanna say sorry. My excuse? The same it has been for a long time now. Writers block. This is longest I've ever had writers block stick around before in my life. It's drivin me nuts! Anyways! _**cookie0monsta:**_Thanks for the review. It's nice to know that people are still reading my stuff even if I haven't been updating. Oh and yes Naru will be feeling better but not in this chappie sorry! Well that's all. R and R please!!!!!

* * *

Meanwhile Tsunade had returned to her office only to find Naruto was gone. Frowning she looked over the broken window for several seconds before turning to the guards.

"What the hell happened?" She asked angrily.

"There was a loud noise so we went in to check it out." The first guard began.

"We found the window like that and a paper weight on the floor near it. Then we noticed Naruto was gone." The second guard said.

"YOU IDIOTS! DON'T YOU KNOW A DISTRACTION WHEN YOU SEE ONE?!" Tsunade yelled. She was angry yes but mostly very worried.

Naruto was off who knows where doing who knows what while still stuck in his chibi form. There was no way he could defend himself! But where would he go?

His apartment?

The monument?

Iruka's?

She'd have to send people to all of those places to check. Once she finds that boy he is so going to get it. How could he be so stupid and run off like that?

00000000000000000000

Kyuubi sighed softly. It had been several hours now since Naruto had passed out. A few villagers had come in to the ally but she had been able to scare them off by leaking out a little bit of her chakra.

Apparently the Hokage had found out Naruto was missing. There were ANBU running all over the place. Those idiots couldn't find their own hand let alone Naruto. Especially since Kyuubi was doing her best to keep him hidden. She didn't want these people to find her kit. They didn't care about him. All they cared about was making sure the Hokage was no longer angry.

That angered Kyuubi.

Looking down to the boy she held in her tails she couldn't help but feel her love for him swell up to the surface.

"Don't worry Kit everything will be ok. I will not allow anyone to harm you." She murmured softly while gently tightening her tails around him.

Although that was a promise that could only be kept while Naruto was unconscious. Whatever it was that had transformed Naruto in to this chibi fox creature was interfering with the seal. This worried Kyuubi a lot. There were only a few things that could interfere with such a powerful seal.

The first would be another seal with equal or more power. However the odds of that were very slim. Not many people studied seals anymore and those who did tended to keep to themselves. Plus Kyuubi didn't sense another seal any where on him.

The second would be if the seal had been damaged by having to much of her chakra being forced through it during several different occasions. Kyuubi had made sure that that hadn't happened because she knew it would only cause harm to her kit.

The third reason would be if Naruto himself was blocking the connection. He wouldn't do that. Well…..he had a few times when he was much younger before they had made contact with each other. Of course Naruto didn't even know that he was blocking her. However now that he was older and they had become so close he no longer blocked her.

What could it possibly be that is interfering with the seal?

00000000000000000000

Tsunade sighed in frustration. They had looked in all of the places she could think of where Naruto would go but he wasn't there. Sitting back in her seat she frowned.

"Where else would you go brat?" Tsunade mumbled to herself.

Then a realization hit her so hard it felt like a ton of bricks had been dropped on her head. How could she have been so stupid? Of course he would run to the one friend he had. Dakota Kano.

Jumping from her chair Tsunade hurried out of her office. She had to find Naruto. If something happened to him she would never forgive herself. Ignoring the people around her she hurried to the Kano home.

00000000000000000000

Tara frowned as she watched her youngest daughter pretend to read a book. She'd been like that for the last hour and her mother was starting to worry. Her daughter was never one to act like this. Moping around the house like a dog who had lost his bone. This had all started when Dakota had come home without Skye.

Where was the little fox boy? Dakota had told her that he was with the Hokage but why would he be with her for so long? Tara just didn't understand. Oh she knew there was something her daughter wasn't telling her. After all she is a mom…….not to mention a retired ninja. Her children (As well as her husband) had never been able to keep the fact that they were hiding a secret from her a secret. Tara may not have known what they were hiding but she knew they were hiding something.

"Dakota honey why don't you go and start the laundry for me?" Tara asked trying to distract her daughter from whatever was on her mind.

"I did it while you were out." Dakota said never looking up from the book she was 'reading'

"Oh." She was surprised. It usually took threats to get Dakota to do the laundry but this time she did it without even being asked.

"I also did the dishes and vacuumed."

Now Tara was REALLY worried. None of her children willingly did any type of house work. Ever.

"Dakota-" Tara began before she was cut off by the sound of the door bell ringing.

Sighing Tara went to answer it. Imagine her surprise when she opened the door to find the Hokage standing on her porch.

"H-Hokage-sama! What an unexpected surprise." She said trying to speak past her shock.

"Kano-san I'm sorry to bother you but I was wondering if I could talk to Dakota." Tsunade said.

"Oh! Of course you can. Please come in and have a seat Hokage-sama." She said stepping aside so the other woman could enter.

Tsunade followed Tara in to the living room where she saw Dakota. The girl was laying on the couch and she seemed a bit distracted but that may have had to do with the fact she was reading. Tsunade wasn't sure.

"Dakota honey Hokage-sama is here to see you." Tara said hoping her daughter would snap out of it.

Looking up Dakota looked from her mother to the Hokage. Sighing softly she closed the book and sat up saying "Hello Hokage-sama is there something I can help you with?"

"Yes there's something I needed to talk to you about."

Taking the hint Tara quietly left the living room. She hoped Dakota wasn't in any trouble or anything.

Once Tara was gone Tsunade continued. "Tell me where he is."

"Huh?"

"Don't play games with me Dakota. I know Naruto came to you. He has no where else to go."

Frowning Dakota said "Wait a minute are you telling me that Naruto is missing? Again?"

Curious about the 'again' Tsunade decided to ask about it later. "Yes now where is he?"

"I'm sorry Hokage-sama but he isn't here. The last time I saw or spoke to him was in your office." Standing Dakota started to pace. "If he took off he probably figured you would look here first so he decided to go somewhere else."

"Well if he isn't here where else would he go?" Tsunade asked her frustration rising.

"Well…..I'm guessing you already checked out his usual hang outs right?"

"Of course."

"Ok….where else would he go?" Dakota asked aloud as she continued to pace.

"That's what I'm trying to find out!"

"Hokage-sama please you don't need to shout. Naruto told me how much you care about him so I know this is hard for you. However you aren't the only one who cares about him." Dakota said angrily.

Needless to say Tsunade was shocked. There was only one person who ever dared to talk like that to her. Everyone else is to scared. Well apparently everyone but Dakota Kano. Looking closely in to the girls eyes Tsunade frowned. She did care about him a great deal but….she seemed confused about something. What that something was Tsunade wasn't able to figure out.

Turning away Dakota began to pace once more. Where could Naruto be?


	22. The fox

_**Authoress Note:**_ Hey people I'm back a heck of a lot sooner than I thought. You can thank my father for that. I have no idea how or what he did but he fixed our computer. So because of that I dedicate this chappie to my Dad! Anyways on to the reviews! **_cookie0monsta:_** I was very glad to hear that someone was happy that I was updating again :). Oh and writers block really is evil . At first I wasn't to sure about having Dakota go up against Tsunade but then I figured why not? I've never really done much Kyuu/Naru interaction (Well at least not in stories I've posted) so I'm glad it turned out ok. The way I work is if ya leave a review (Even if all it says is somethin like 'Nice' or 'More please') I'll mention ya. Well thanks for the review and I hope you all like this chappie. R and R please!

* * *

Kyuubi frowned in worry. Naruto's condition had gotten worse in the last hour. He had developed a fever that kept slowly creeping higher. She had tried to heal him but just like before she was unable to. If this kept up Naruto may be dead within the day.

That thought terrified her. Kyuubi didn't think she would be able to handle loosing another loved one. Loosing her mate had been bad enough but loosing Naruto, her kit, would be even worse. She didn't care about her own life. If it came down to it she would sacrifice herself to save her beloved kit.

"Naruto please stay strong." She said in a desperate voice.

The only response she got was a soft moan.

* * *

"Alright that's it." Dakota said turning to leave the room.

"Wait where are you going?" Tsunade asked.

"To look for Naruto."

"You know where he's at?" She asked feeling hope rise within her.

"No but I can't just keep pacing around here. I need to get out there and look."

"This village is huge Dakota. There is no way you can search it by yourself."

"That doesn't mean I can't try." Dakota said angrily.

Sighing Tsunade said "I'll have some ANBU look as well."

"Whatever but they wont be able to find him."

"What? Why do you say that?" Tsunade demanded angrily.

"Because Naruto has gotten very good at hiding. You need to know him in order to find him."

In all honesty Dakota had no idea where that thought came from. After all she hadn't even been the one to find him last time. However she did know that what she said was true. Somehow she knew without a doubt that in order to find Naruto you needed to know him. More than know you need to care. Because of that no ANBU would be able to track him down.

"How on earth do you know that?" Tsunade asked confused.

Shrugging Dakota headed towards the kitchen to tell her mother she was going out. If she left without telling her mother like last time she knew she'd haven even more injuries than the scratches and bites on her arms. Thinking this Dakota found herself rubbing her right arm. Frowning she stopped and spoke to her mother.

* * *

There was no doubt in Kyuubi's mind that if she waited to much longer Naruto would start slipping away. Slipping away to a place where she would never be able to bring him back from. Death.

Naruto's breathing was becoming more shallow and he had broken out in to a cold sweat. He was becoming restless yet unable to sit up on his own. She did her best to sooth him but nothing seemed to work for very long.

"This may be a little painful kit and I'm sorry but I have no other choice." Kyuubi said regretfully. She didn't want to cause him more pain but she had no other way.

Kyuubi will not let her kit die!

Closing her eyes she began to concentrate. Out in the ally Naruto's body began to glow orange. It wasn't very bright and it flickered like a candle. This chakra slowly began to take on the form of a fox. Naruto's body began to shake under the strain but Kyuubi kept going. It took several minutes for the fox to form completely. Once it did the glow around Naruto disappeared and the fox stood ready.

Back in the seal Kyuubi opened her eyes breathing heavily. That had taken more out of her than it should have. Perhaps it was because of the problems with the seal?

Shaking her head to clear her thoughts she spoke to the fox. "You know what to do. Hurry."

The fox yipped and hurried off. Now all they could do is wait and pray that help would come soon.

* * *

Frustration was beginning to build up in Dakota. She had been searching for almost two hours now and still hadn't found a single trace of Naruto. Maybe Tsunade had been right. This village was to huge to check on her own. Leaning back against the side of a building Dakota closed her eyes.

She desperately wanted to find Naruto. What if he was hurt? The thought of him being out there alone and possibly injured hurt Dakota. A lot. It was just as her sister Kiyoshi had said. They were close. Actually they were very close but the problem is that Dakota still had no idea what kind of close it was.

Was it close like family?

Close like friends?

Close as in two people attracted to each other?

Dakota was drawn out of her thoughts by a strange soft glow. Opening her eyes she saw a fox standing in front of her. This was no ordinary fox. It was fiery orange and as big as a wolf. Not to mention the fact that it was glowing. Whole body stiffening Dakota watched this strange fox anxiously.

"What are you?" She asked after several seconds of the two of them staring at each other.

The fox took a few steps closer and looked her in the eye. It's eyes were blue. A very familiar shade of blue. Gasping Dakota found herself taking a step towards the fox.

"What do you want?"

It tilted it's head to the right.

"Huh?"

Once more the fox tilted it's head to the right.

Shaking her head she said "I'm sorry but I don't understand."

The fox stood there for a few seconds then moved towards her. Reaching out with it's tail it gently wrapped the end of it around her wrist.

Dakota was surprised to feel the warmth coming from the tail. It felt…comforting somehow. Feeling the fox tugging her arm gently she suddenly understood and asked "Do you want me to follow you?"

Nodding the glowing fox turned and led Dakota down the street with it's tail still wrapped around her wrist.

This was odd. Very odd. Under normal circumstances Dakota would have been freaking out but for some reason she felt that this strange fox meant her no harm. She had no idea how she knew this but she decided to trust her instincts.

Looking around her surroundings as they walked Dakota saw that despite it being close to dinner time there were still a lot of people out. She expected these people to be staring at the strange fox that was leading her down the street but no one was. Not a single person was even looking in their direction in an odd way.

'Can they not see the fox?' Dakota thought to herself.

How could they not see this fiery orange fox the size of a wolf?

Feeling the fox tugging her arm a little more forcefully Dakota looked down at it and saw it was looking at her. Apparently she had stopped walking.

"Ah…sorry." She said a bit sheepishly.

The fox turned and continued on walking. After several minutes the fox stopped at the entrance to an ally way.

"Here?"

Nodding the fox let go of her arm and stood there staring at her. The look on it's face seemed to say 'Well what are you waiting for?'

"Um thanks I guess." Dakota said not knowing what else to say.

Turning she began to walk in to the semi dark ally. It was the typical ally with trash and dirt on the ground. The farther she walked back the better she was able to see a large dumpster. Frowning she moved forwards looking carefully for whatever it was the fox brought her here for. Reaching the other end of the dumpster Dakota let out a gasp. There on the ground laid a small boy. Not just any boy but Naruto.

"Naruto!" Dakota said dropping to her knees next to him.

Reaching out to touch his arm she felt a large amount of heat coming off his body. Frowning she reached up and felt his forehead. Sure enough he had a fever.

"Oh Naruto not again." She whispered reaching out to gently pick him up. He whimpered softly as she cradled him against her. "Sh it's ok Naruto. Everything's going to be ok."

Walking to the entrance of the ally Dakota saw the fox was still there. It tilted it's head to the left this time.

"Okay lead the way." Dakota said confidant that the fox would take her to where they needed to go. Five minutes later the three of them stood outside of the Hokage tower.

"Here?" Dakota asked the fox unsure about this.

The fox nodded it's head.

"You want me to take him to the Hokage don't you?"

Once more the fox nodded it's head.

Sighing she said "Okay."

Shifting Naruto gently in her grasp Dakota headed inside and up the many flight of stairs. Once at the top she spotted The Hokage's secretary and the two guards standing out side the big wooden doors.

"Excuse me but I need to see the Hokage."

Turning to look at her the secretary gasped at the sight of the boy in her arms. "Let her in. Quickly!"

The guards opened the door and Dakota hurried through. Tsunade was standing at one of the big windows looking out.

"Hokage-sama."

Turning Tsunade felt her heart stop. Naruto lay in Dakota's arms looking half dead. "Where did you find him?" She asked hurrying up to the two.

"In an ally. He hasn't woken up at all." Dakota said allowing the older woman to take him out of her arms.

Tsunade gently laid Naruto down on the couch and began to examine him. He had an extremely high fever and was dehydrated but other than that she was unable to find anything else wrong with him.

"Is he going to be ok?" Dakota asked in a worried voice.

"If we can get his fever down then yes he should be ok."


	23. Friends, Family, or Lovers?

_**Authoress Note:**_Hey everyone! Chuni is back and for this story it's the last time. That's right this is the last chappie of Explosive Surprises! Honestly...I think I'm gonna die of shock! I don't normally finish most of my stories for one reason or another. Though I am trying my very best to finish those that I have posted. ES has been a bit of a challenge for me with a whole lot of writers block then computer issues I thought it would take me a lot longer to finish this. Anyways on to reviews! **_cookie0monsta:_ **Don't worry I have the same problem of letting updated stories pile up in my inbox for long periods of time. Though I'm trying not to do that any more. So far it's working. Yeah well I figure that if Kyuubi thought of Naru as her Kit she would do _ALL_that she could to help him. However since she was cut off from their usual connection there wasn't much she could do. Thanks for reading and reviewing my story!

Now I just wanna thank everyone who read and reviewed my story. I know it's taken me a long time to update and finish this. With so much writers block and computer issues I can understand as to why some of you have given up on ES. Though I am very gratful to those who have stuck around. It makes me feel great to know that people like my writing. Thanks again every one!

* * *

Around eight the next morning Dakota woke up and let out a groan. Her back was so stiff! Sitting up she looked around trying to remember where she was. When she saw all the white it came rushing back to her. Finding Naruto in the ally, taking him to Tsunade, Tsunade taking him to the hospital where he was hooked up to an IV, and finally she fell asleep sitting at his bedside.

Looking to the bed Dakota let out a yelp of surprise. Where the night before a chibi fox boy lay there was now a fully human Naruto. Having jumped to her feet in shock Dakota slowly lowered herself back down in to the chair never taking her eyes off of Naruto. The last time she had seen a fully human Naruto he had been almost four years old. Now he was eighteen and looked almost nothing like the little four year old boy she remembered.

His hair was just as wild and spiky as it had been when he was a chibi. The whisker marks were a little finer now in his human form and also unlike his chibi form human Naruto had muscles. A good amount as she could see with him being covered by a blanket. Feeling her face heat up Dakota looked away from the boy in the bed. Just as she managed to get her blushing under control the door to the hospital room opened up.

"Well now I see things have changed in the last few hours." Tsunade said as she looked over the now fully human Naruto.

"Y-Yeah." Dakota stammered.

Looking to Dakota Tsunade saw that the girl was looking everywhere except at the bed where Naruto lay. 'Oh ho what's that about?' She wondered with a small smile. "So do you know when this happened?"

"Erm no….I fell asleep and when I woke up a few minutes ago he was like this."

"I see." Turning to look at Naruto she said "Alright brat lets see how you're doing today."

Dakota raised an eye brow when she called him brat but didn't say anything. Standing she said "I'm going to go and get something to eat."

"Alright. You can come back if you want. I told the guards to let you in."

"Thanks." She said before turning and leaving the room.

The night before Tsunade had placed ANBU guards out side of Naruto's hospital room. She said that it was because of him being a human chibi fox. No one except for her was aloud to treat him.

Deciding to head home to take a shower as well as get something to eat Dakota headed out of the hospital. It had been a very long night. She had sat by his bed side the whole time. Well except when Tsunade examined him of course. During the night they had been able to lower his fever slightly which was a major relief.

"I'm home!" Dakota called as she walked in to her house.

"Dakota!" Kiyoshi shouted before grabbing her sister in a bear hug.

"Ack Kiyoshi get off!" She exclaimed trying to pry her off.

"Sorry!" Kiyoshi said as she let her go.

"What was that for any way?"

"Well you never came home last night or even called. We were all so worried about you."

"Oh man…I did forget to call didn't I?"

"Yup. Now you better be ready to face the others."

This wasn't going to be pretty. Her family was very protective of her and well…can go a little over board some times. Walking in to the living room she found her parents and Kumori waiting.

"DAKOTA KANO WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN ALL NIGHT?" Tara cried.

Cringing she said "I'm sorry everyone. Really I am but-"

"No buts! Do you have any idea how worried we've been?" Raven (Her father) demanded.

"I know but-"

"You heard Dad Dakota. No buts! Now you better tell us the truth." Kumori demanded.

Now Dakota felt her anger building up. All of the emotions she had been feeling over the last few days mixed with that anger and she couldn't contain it any longer. She blew up.

"I SAID I WAS SORRY DAMN IT! WHAT ELSE DO YOU WANT ME TO SAY?"

"Dakota!" Tara gasped. None of them had ever seen her blow up before.

"No you want to know the truth? Well I'm sorry I can't tell you the truth!"

"Why can't you tell us the truth?" Kiyoshi asked in a calm voice.

Squeezing her eyes closed Dakota said "Because I can't! I want to I really want to. Lord knows how much I want to tell you but I can't because the Hokage ordered me not to tell!"

"The Hokage?" Raven asked. He hadn't expected to hear that.

"Yes!" Dakota shouted trying to fight the tears that had welled up suddenly. "I was so worried….so scared…I couldn't really do anything to help…." She sobbed as her tears fell.

Feeling arms wrap around her Dakota turned and saw Kiyoshi holding her close. "Dakota….it'll be okay." She said in a soft soothing voice.

"No it's not! Everything's different now…nothings going to be the same." She said burying her face in her sisters shoulder.

Dakota couldn't help but cry. Everything was different now that Naruto was back to normal. He didn't need her anymore. Now he could go back to his old life and forget all about her. That thought hurt Dakota so much more than she thought it ever could.

"Well now Naruto you seem to be back to normal." Tsunade said frowning down at him.

"Really? Everything's back to normal?" He asked shocked.

"Yes."

"But how?" He asked totally confused.

"I've no idea Naruto. Just like how I have no idea how you transformed in the first place."

"It's all just so weird." Naruto mumbled.

"No kidding. I've never heard of anything like this happening before. Ever."

Frowning he said "Could it be because of Kyuubi?"

"Maybe but I have no idea how to test that."

'And I'd rather not go through any of that again.' He thought.

Come now kit it wasn't all bad. Kyuubi said.

'You weren't the one transformed.'

No but I was with you the entire time. Besides one good thing did come out of this.

'And that would be?'

Now Naruto you're not that dumb. Kyuubi said in a teasing tone.

'Hey I'm not dumb!'

Then figure it out kit.

Frowning Naruto thought over everything that had happened. Then it dawned on him 'Dakota.'

Yes kit. Dakota Kano is the best thing about your ordeal. If you had not been transformed then you would not have met her.

'You're right. But what does it mean? That it was her that I met I mean.'

It means that Dakota is someone very special in your life.

'Special how?'

That my dear kit is something you have to figure out on your own.

'Aw Kyuubi….'

On your own kit.

'Alright.'

"Naruto!"

Jumping Naruto looked up at Tsunade. "Yeah?"

"Are you okay? I've been calling your name but you haven't responded." Tsunade said worried.

"Oh sorry about that. I was just thinking."

"About what?"

Frowning once more he looked around the room. "Hey where's Dakota?"

"Huh oh she said she was going to get something to eat but that was a few hours ago. That's odd. I mean she sat by your bed side all night. I expected her to come right back after getting something to eat."

"She did?" Naruto asked in shock.

"Did what?" Tsunade asked confused.

"Was here all night."

"Yeah. The guards said she never left."

'Damn.' Naruto thought as he moved to get out of bed.

"Whoa where do you think you're going?" Tsunade demanded.

"You just said I was back to normal. Which means I'm fine so I can leave the hospital."

"Yes I did but-' Tsunade began before she was interrupted by a puff of smoke. When it was gone Naruto was no where in sight.

After a few hours Kiyoshi had gotten her sister calmed down and in to her bed room where they now both sat on her bed. Throughout that time she had been watching her sister closely and had now reached a conclusion.

"This is about Skye right? Or should I say Naruto?" Seeing the surprised look on her sisters face she continued. "That's what I thought. So you wanna talk about it?"

"I can't." Dakota said softly.

"Well the way I see it is that I already know about Skye being Naruto so it's okay for me to hear the rest."

Dakota just sat there staring at her older sister.

"Come on Dakota keeping it bottled up inside is just hurting you more."

Well Kiyoshi did have a point. She did already know about Skye/Naruto. Taking a deep breath she then proceeded to tell her about the events from the day before. Afterwards Kiyoshi just sat there staring at her causing Dakota to fidget.

"I see now. You think that now that he's back to normal he'll want nothing to do with you right?"

"Yeah." She said softly.

"Well baby sis I think you're wrong."

"What?" Dakota asked shocked.

"Yeah. I've seen how the two of you acted around each other. Remember you two were close. The question however was and still remains what kind of close?"

"Family, friend, or lovers."

"Exactly. Have you figured it out yet?"

"No. All I do know is that I care a lot about him and that I don't want to loose that bond."

"Well then go tell him that."

"What? No I can't do that!" Dakota cried in shock and embarrassment.

"And why not?" Kiyoshi asked quirking an eye brow.

"Because…..I just can't." She said not looking at her sister.

Sighing Kiyoshi said "Alright then. I'm gonna leave you alone now for a little while so you can think over what I said. If you need me I'll be downstairs."

"Okay….thanks Kiyoshi."

"No problem lil sis."

Kiyoshi headed down the stairs with a small smile on her face only to be confronted by her family.

"Well is she okay?" Tara asked.

"Yeah. She just needs some time." She said in a reassuring voice.

"Are you sure?"

"Yup."

"Did she tell you what it was all about?" Raven asked.

"No." Kiyoshi easily lied.

Tara frowned slightly. Once more able to tell that Kiyoshi was lying. However she had a feeling it would be better to leave it alone. For now at least.

Grabbing a soda from the fridge Kiyoshi went and sat down in the living room to read a magazine. Soon her family wandered off to do their own thing as well. About an hour and a half later the door bell rang. Sighing Kiyoshi headed for the door.

"I got it!" She called as she went. Opening the door she couldn't help but smile when she saw who it was. She'd know those blue eyes from anywhere.

"Um hi I was wondering if Dakota was home." Naruto said in a nervous voice.

"Yeah she's home and you can go on up and talk to her. I believe you know the way. Skye." She whispered the last part so no one would over hear.

Naruto's eyes widened in surprise then he felt his face flush. "Ah thanks." He said stepping around the chuckling girl.

Kiyoshi turned and watched as Naruto disappeared up the stairs.

"Friends, family, or lovers?" She asked aloud.

"Did you say something honey?" Raven asked as he passed his daughter.

"Oh no Dad. Just talking to myself."

Shrugging Raven moved on never noticing the large smile on his oldest daughters face or that her eyes were shinning.


End file.
